Von der Leyen comfortably renews her presidency of the European Commission

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has won the confidence of the European Parliament to serve for another five years, thanks to the support of 401 MEPs in the 720-seat parliament.

Earlier in the day, Ursula von der Leyen presented her roadmap for the next period with the aim of securing a majority. The former German defence minister has headed the European Commission since 2019, when she became the first woman in the post. She has faced several crises, such as the Covid pandemic or the war in Ukraine, and also many controversies.

Ursula von der Leyen’s timetable includes the appointment of a commissioner for the Mediterranean, who will have a broad portfolio of responsibilities in this region to strengthen relations with Europe’s southern neighbourhood. The proposal attributes to this new position tasks of investment and partnerships with the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as working on their economic stability, job creation, energy, security, migration and other areas of common interest.

Von der Leyen also sees housing as one of her priorities, and has appointed a European Commissioner whose responsibilities will include tackling the first ‘European Plan for Affordable Housing’, for which she intends to work with the European Investment Bank to finance a comprehensive plan to enable investment in affordable social housing.

One of the proposals that stands out in its recent presentation is the intention to appoint a Defence Commissioner, whose objectives will include promoting a European anti-aircraft shield.

“We need to build common European projects, for example a comprehensive air defence system, not only to protect our airspace, but also to send a clear and strong message of European unity in the field of defence,” said von der Leyen.

Another point that von der Leyen addresses is the reform of the European Union budget to reduce the number of programs and include plans from each of the countries with “key” reforms that will be linked to investments.