European Union leaders agreed on Friday to nominate Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive body.
At a summit in Brussels, the EU’s 27 national leaders elected former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa as the future president of the European Council meetings and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.
The leadership package represents continuity for the 27-member bloc, with centrist pro-EU factions retaining top positions despite a far-right surge in European Parliament elections earlier this month.
The agreement was announced by current European Council President Charles Michel on social media.
The three received broad support from leaders, but diplomats said right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni abstained from voting on von der Leyen and voted against Costa and Kallas.
Von der Leyen’s nomination still needs to be approved by the European Parliament via secret ballot – which is seen as a more difficult proposition than her endorsement by EU leaders.
At the summit the EU also signed a security agreement with Ukraine, discussed strengthening EU security against Russia and agreed on the EU’s strategic priorities for the next five years.
The security pact underlines the EU’s support for Kiev to fight off Moscow’s aggression for a third year, even as European elections give right-wingers a makeover, France’s snap election raises uncertainty and the US presidential vote is due in November.
The agreement outlines the EU’s commitments to help Ukraine in nine areas of security policy – including arms supplies, military training, defence industry cooperation and landmine removal.
“These commitments will help Ukraine to defend itself, resist destabilization and deter future acts of aggression – further solid proof of the EU’s unwavering resolve to support Ukraine in the long term,” Michel said.
The leaders will reiterate their pledge to provide as much support as possible to Ukraine, stressing that “Russia must not dominate” and that Ukraine must take back lands seized by Moscow.
Defence arguments
The war in Ukraine has exposed the EU’s lack of preparation for conflict, as the EU struggles to provide Kiev with adequate weapons against Russia, leading to calls for greater EU coordination in defence systems and investment in defence industries.
Diplomats said von der Leyen told the summit that between 1999 and 2021, the EU had increased defence spending by 20%, China by 600% and Russia by 300%, while Moscow was set to massively increase military spending after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to diplomats, von der Leyen told leaders that the EU needs to invest 500 billion euros ($535.30 billion) in defense over the next 10 years. Von der Leyen said financing options range from national contributions, dedicated revenue streams – called EU own resources – and joint borrowing.
Investment in defence is part of the EU’s “strategic agenda” which leaders want to agree before dinner on Thursday – a document that tells EU institutions what European governments want them to focus on during their 2024-2029 term.
In addition to defense, the agenda calls for making the EU more competitive to withstand economic pressure from China and the United States and preparing for enlargement to include Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)