Von der Leyen is standing for re-election as president of the European Commission

Brussels – Ursula von der Leyen is aiming for a second term as the head of the European Commission. The current leader of the European executive confirmed today (Feb. 19) her availability for a second term at the head of the European Commission, with the Christian Democratic Union party to which she belongs indicating her as the spitzenkandidat for the European People’s Party (EPP).

“I would like to run for a second term, and I am very grateful to the CDU for proposing me today as a leading candidate in the upcoming European elections,” said von der Leyen at a press conference in Berlin along with the chairman of the CDU, Friedrich Merz, after the party’s executive council meeting unanimously nominated her.

The German Christian Democratic Party listed von der Leyen as the leading candidate of the European Christian Democrat family. The German had until Feb. 21 to lift her reservation before the deadline by which to formally submit her internal candidacy to the EPP. The EPP will hold its Congress in Bucharest on March 6 and 7, and, at that time, it will indicate who will be the  spitzenkandidat of the political group ahead of the June 6-9 European elections. The pandemic, economic crisis, then another energy war, and the twin transition: in announcing his availability to run for office, von der Leyen reviewed the past five years at the helm of the European executive in a legislature that, more than any other, challenged European unity. “The world of today is completely different from the world of 2019,” von der Leyen said, claiming to have “tackled a lot of things together in the last five years, and I think it’s fair to say that we have achieved more than we could have imagined,” she said.

Over the last five years at the helm of the European Commission, we have “invested heavily in a clean, digital industry. And whether it’s semiconductor manufacturing that we brought to Europe, battery technology, or clean hydrogen, it’s critical.” After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she added, “Together we have overcome the biggest energy crisis in 40 years and, just as importantly, we have massively expanded our energy independence.”

Her main antagonist, before her first candidacy and in this one, EPP President Manfred Weber, says he is happy with her choice, writing on X: “A strong Europe needs strong leadership from the EPP and Ursula von der Leyen.”

A strong Europe needs strong leadership from the @EPP and Ursula von der Leyen. I welcome the announcement that @vonderleyen wants to stand for re-election as President of the European Commission.

— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) February 19, 2024