Ursula von der Leyen remains at the helm of the European Commission despite criticism

Ursula von der Leyen received the highest number of votes in today’s secret ballot for the new president of the European Commission, where Members of the European Parliament decided to support the current president for the next term. With 401 votes, which is 41 votes more than the required 360, von der Leyen will lead the Commission for the next five years. Out of 720 Members in the new, tenth term of the EP, a total of 707 voted. Although von der Leyen received a majority among MEPs today, even greater than in the previous term in 2019 when she received only 9 votes above the required threshold, the race for every vote in Strasbourg these days was very tense.

Von der Leyen has faced a series of criticisms for her previous term, and yesterday’s ruling by the General Court of the European Union that the Commission was not sufficiently transparent regarding the Covid-19 vaccine contracts did not help her candidacy for a second term. Speculation at the edges of the plenary session suggested that this would further negatively impact the outcome of today’s vote. However, despite this, von der Leyen secured a second term. Support for von der Leyen means that MEPs want a kind of status quo in the current challenging period for the EU.

In her speech before the vote, she promised to strengthen the defense of the continent, calling for the establishment of a European Defense Union, continuing the implementation of the Green Deal, and in the new term, she will also focus on the European plan for affordable housing. She condemned the visit to Moscow by Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, which currently holds the EU presidency, emphasized the EU’s support for Ukraine, and called for ‘an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.’ She also mentioned the expansion of the Union, which will be her main priority.

Polarization of the new term

However, after von der Leyen’s speech, the addresses of several MEPs this morning regarding the vote for the president of the Commission did not pass without incidents. Besides the reactions to von der Leyen’s speech revealing the polarization of the new term of the EP, one event stood out in particular. The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola ordered the removal of Romanian independent MEP Diana Șoșoacă from the chamber after she interrupted while French MEP Valérie Hayer was speaking. Newly elected MEP Șoșoacă, who is the leader of the Romanian far-right party SOS Romania and a former member of the upper house of parliament in her country, is known for her anti-immigration and anti-vaccine views. On Wednesday, she even requested in her first speech in the European Parliament that a priest come to the chamber, bless the European Parliament, and cleanse it of ‘the devil.’

Most Croatian MEPs supported von der Leyen

Croatian MEP Karlo Ressler, representing the European People’s Party, the largest group in the EP, explained that they supported the re-election of the Commission president at a time when many global actors are questioning the position that the EU holds.

Von der Leyen also received support from the Social Democrats, and Tonino Picula, a Croatian MEP from that group, stated that the result is not a big surprise. The agreement reached by the chief negotiators of the main European groups was confirmed today, Picula said.

Von der Leyen would not have had a majority without the support of the Greens, noted our MEP in that group Gordan Bosanac, stating that this achieved the goal of isolating the ‘black, radical European right’ and marginalizing Le Pen, Orbán, and AfD in Parliament. Bosanac also emphasized that it is important for them that the Green Deal is not ‘dead,’ as von der Leyen promised to continue its implementation.

The only MEP from Croatia who did not vote for von der Leyen is Stephen Bartulica.