The agreement was reached less than three weeks before the elections. Ursula von der Leyen will be President of the European Commission, António Costa President of the European Council and Kaja Kallas High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) have given their green light to the names that will make up the institutional leadership of the community of the next five years. The pact ultimately did not have the support of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, upset at having been excluded from previous negotiations.
The agreement has been reached just under three weeks before the elections to the European Parliament. The names that will make up it will be the following: Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission, Antonio Costa President of the European Council and Kaja Kallas High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Newly nominated, Von der Leyen has assured in a press conference that during the next three weeks before her confirmation vote in the European Parliament she will seek to “convince a strong majority for a strong Europe.” She has also stressed that she wants to cooperate with parties and MEPs who are in favor of the European Union, of Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, and of the rule of law.
Speaking via video conference from Portugal, Costa also said that he assumes this responsibility “with a great sense of mission” and has committed to promoting unity among the 27 member states and implementing the strategic agenda approved by the Council.
Kallas said the main challenges he would face as EU diplomats would be war in Europe and instability in the EU’s neighbourhood and globally.
Meloni and Orbán, outside the consensus
Meloni, who belongs to the European Conservatives and Reformists, has publicly complained after being excluded from talks between negotiators from the three main pro-European families to prepare a shortlist for the summit, despite the fact that her parliamentary group is now the third largest in the European Parliament, ahead of the liberals. The Italian abstained on the nomination of Von der Leyen and voted against Kallas and Costa.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, was also left out of the consensus, voting against Von der Leyen and abstaining with Kallas, although he voted in favor of Costa.
Source: Eitb
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