European Commission: President Von der Leyen applies for a second term

Ursula von der Leyen, in a press conference in Berlin with the CDU president Friedrich Merz, announced on Monday, February 19, her candidacy for the European elections as the Spitzenkandidat for the European People's Party.

The re-candidacy of the German politician has unanimous support from the CDU in Germany. It will be the delegates at the EPP congress in Bucharest on March 6-7 who will decide definitively.

"I took office in 2019" and "In these five years not only has my passion for Europe grown, but also my experience on what this Europe can achieve for its citizens."

"Five years of mandate" according to the President "as challenging as they are extraordinary", with the world and Europe reeling from the Covid pandemic when she was in office "for less than a hundred days" and "joining forces we managed to avert a serious economic recession," she emphasized. "In the midst of economic recovery, Russia invaded Ukraine with the largest land war in Europe since 1945," stressing that the EU stood by Ukraine two years ago and still does. "Then Putin tried to bring us to our knees and always tried to use oil and gas" as a weapon, but Europe "maintained its position" and "overcame together the biggest energy crisis in the last forty years."

The entry into the field of Von der Leyen is destined to condition, if not significantly determine, the political confrontation between groups in the European Parliament which will elect its deputies in the run-up to the June elections.

Ursula Von der Leyen led a Commission that made digital and ecological transition the two main axes of the European executive's policy. The choice of institutional continuity in Brussels is the card to play that, barring surprises, the People's want to assert in the political balances on the continent. It will be better understood in the coming weeks whether the coalition that supported the executive in the 2019-2024 mandate will be confirmed or not. 

staff @euroeconomie.it