Von der Leyen ready for second term but puts announcement on hold until Feb. 21

Brussels – Ursula von der Leyen back at the head of the European Commission? Anything is possible, but to know at least whether the current president of the European Executive will be named by the European People’s Party (EPP) as spitzenkandidat (i.e., the leading candidate for the European elections in June) we will have to wait at least until February 21, when the internal EPP nominations officially close.

“You know there is a period to submit applications to the EPP that expires on Feb. 21, so we have to be patient,” said jokingly the European Commission chairwoman, answering a question in a press conference about her possible candidacy in the June 6-9 European elections (it would be the first time for her). Von der Leyen is in Stockholm with the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, and the Finnish Premier, Petteri Orpo, to lay the groundwork for the strategic agenda (2024-2029) of the next European Commission, and this, too, could prove indicative in the perspective of her potential candidacy.

According to many, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the German leader will seek confirmation at the head of the Commission, inevitably becoming the EPP’s leading candidate, despite friction in recent months with her political family over some of the European Green Deal’s hot dossiers. It is precisely the EPP’s criticism of its Green Pact for Europe that has prompted von der Leyen to rethink its pillars by launching a “Green Deal 2.0″ phase that is more attentive to the business and agricultural fabric, the one most unhappy with this fast-paced transition. It is precisely this change of pace that can be interpreted as the will to heal the rift with her group ahead of the next call to the polls.

Excellent meeting with @SwedishPM and @PetteriOrpo on key issues:

Supporting Ukraine.

Ramping up our defense industrial base.

Strengthening the competitiveness our economy

And tackling illegal migration ↓ https://t.co/Iud0u7rYXX

– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 19, 2024

For now, however, she does not confirm, but neither does she deny the possibility. In recent months, on the contrary, she has been far too careful in not letting this intention slip through. She remains cautious as she waits for an internal debate to take place, democratically, within the EPP, hoping to emerge as the only leader invested in the group. The European Christian Democratic Family will meet at a congress in Bucharest, Romania, on March 6 -7, adopting the manifesto and naming the leading candidate for the European elections.

The two leaders alongside von der Leyen are both part of the Christian Democratic family and both confirmed their readiness to support a possible candidacy of von der Leyen. “We have a very good experience of working with Ursula as chair of the Commission, really good,” said Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson, who was also echoed by Orpo according to whom it is “very easy to continue: I think Ursula has done a very good job as leader of the commission, especially your leadership with Covid and the Ukrainian crisis was very important. And I hope that in the next commission, this leadership can continue but this is in your hands,” he said.

From left to right: Ursula von der Leyen, Ulf Kristersson, Petteri Orpo

Von der Leyen stopped in Stockholm to prepare the strategic agenda for the next institutional cycle, and she chose not surprisingly to meet with the premiers of Sweden and Finland because the European Commission is working to present in March a strategy on the defence industry. Sweden and Finland are the last two EU countries to have applied to join NATO, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, to which they are geographically close. “Russia’s invasion was a wake-up call for Europe. We need to rethink our defence and strengthen our defence industrial base. This will not only give us greater access to the necessary military systems but also improve the interoperability of the armed forces of the different member states and the European Union,” she said, confirming that the proposal will come in March. According to the Commission’s latest agenda, always subject to change, the strategy is scheduled for Feb. 27.