Von der Leyen defends ‘European air shield’

The European Parliament has 720 members with 707 votes. Von der Leyen needed 360 votes to be re-elected.

This will be her second term as President of the European Commission, having first been elected in July 2019. Ahead of the vote, Von der Leyen outlined her policy priorities for the next five years and asked MEPs for their “trust” to continue to defend Europe, which must focus more than ever on “prosperity and competitiveness.” The German leader also pledged to fight for Europe together with “all democratic forces” in the hemisphere and advocated “the creation of a European air shield to protect airspace and send a strong signal of European unity in the field of defense.”

For the President of the European Parliament, it was a “well-deserved re-election”. “This is proof of your strong leadership and the best solution for Europe,” says Roberta Metsola.

For her part, Marta Temido, a PS MEP, says the Socialists will not back down from their commitments, but promises to “carefully study” Von der Leyen. Lídia Pereira, a PSD MEP, and João Cotrim de Figueiredo of the Liberal Initiative also confirm their support for Von der Leyen.

To the left of the PS, the re-election was seen as a contribution to the growth of the far right.

Romanian far-right MEP expelled for shouting
Romanian far-right MEP Diana Sosoaca of the SOS Romania party was expelled from a debate in the European Parliament plenary on Thursday after she interrupted several speeches with shouts. European Council President Roberta Metsola demanded her expulsion, and Sosoaca was escorted out by members of the institution shouting “freedom of expression”.

Von der Leyen scolds Viktor Orban
Von der Leyen returned on Thursday to criticise Viktor Orban’s trip to Moscow. “Russia is counting on Europe and the West to go soft and some in Europe to submit. Two weeks ago, the EU prime minister went to Moscow. This so-called peacekeeping mission was nothing more than appeasement, it was an appeasement mission pure and simple,” she said.