European leaders will announce their choices for the EU’s top job at a two-day summit in Brussels, with current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set to be nominated for a second term.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the summit and thanked EU leaders for opening accession talks with Ukraine earlier this week.
Other topics on the agenda include security and defence, with leaders of Poland and the Baltic states demanding EU funding to build defense lines along their borders with Russia.
Earlier this week, news emerged that six EU leaders had agreed on nominees, each from one of the three parties that dominate the European Parliament.
they are:
- Ursula von der LeyenThe centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) returns as president of the European Commission
- former prime minister of portugal Antonio Costa Socialists and Democrats (S&D) run for European Council presidency
- Prime Minister of Estonia kaja kara The role of centrist “Renew Europe” for the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy
The six EU leaders negotiating the name also represent the European People’s Party (EPP), the Special and Development Party (S&D) or Renew.
They are Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis representing the European People’s Party, Poland’s Donald Tusk, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez representing the Socialist Party and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, as well as representatives of Regeneration The party’s Emmanuel Macron of France and Mark Rutte of the Netherlands.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) bloc, has been conspicuously excluded from the negotiations – despite a resurgence of ECR leaders following the European elections. The party became the third largest group in the European Parliament earlier this month.
Speaking in the Italian parliament on Wednesday, Ms Meloni angrily said European voters were demanding that the EU “take a different path than it has hitherto”.
She did not criticize by name “those who believe that citizens are not mature enough to make certain decisions. [who believe] Oligarchy is essentially the only acceptable form of democracy.”
Earlier this week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also expressed dissatisfaction with other EU leaders.
Writing in X, Mr Orban said the agreement between the European People’s Party, the German Social Democrats and the liberals “goes against everything the EU is based on”.
“Instead of being inclusive, it sows the seeds of division,” Orban said, adding that senior EU officials should represent “every member state, not just the left and the liberals!”
On Thursday morning, allies of Ms Meloni told reporters in Brussels that she had not yet decided whether to support the new leadership team.
However, even with Mr Orban’s potential support, Ms Meloni does not have the power to veto a nomination for the top job, as doing so would require the support of a majority of EU leaders.
But Ms Meloni has gained prominence among Europe’s right-wingers and it is unlikely Ms von der Leyen will want to confront her at the start of her second term.
Ahead of the summit, members of Ms von der Leyen’s PPE group struck a conciliatory tone, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk telling reporters: “There is no Europe without Italy, there are no decisions without Prime Minister Meloni, that’s obvious. “
It is also thought that Italy will be given a senior position on the next committee in exchange for recognition at today’s summit. Each EU member state will have a commissioner, but some (e.g. economic or competition portfolios) are the most coveted.
In a letter to EU leaders on the eve of the Brussels summit, Ms von der Leyen also pledged to do more to tackle illegal immigration, one of Ms Meloni’s main concerns.
If she is formally nominated as EU leaders’ chosen candidate for the European Commission presidency, Ms von der Leyen will need approval from a majority of MPs at a European Parliament meeting, likely to be held in mid-year.
Ms von der Leyen will have the support of 190 members of the European People’s Party caucus, but she will also need support from other political groups to secure a majority of 361 members.
