The European People’s Party (EPP) nominated Ursula von der Leyen as its top candidate for the European elections at its congress in Bucharest. This means that the German is also running for a second term as President of the EU Commission. The election of the 65-year-old CDU politician was considered safe. There were no opposing candidates.
The CDU proposed von der Leyen as EPP candidate in February. The position of EU Commission President must be filled after the European elections in June. As a rule, a candidate from the European party family that performs best in the European elections is appointed. The EPP is clearly ahead in surveys so far. The likelihood that von der Leyen will remain in office is therefore high.
In addition to the CDU and CSU, the Christian-conservative EVP party family includes the Austrian ÖVP, the Italian Forza Italia and Spain’s conservative People’s Party PP. The European elections will take place on June 9th. In Germany alone, almost 65 million voters are called to cast their votes.
As President of the EU Commission, von der Leyen has been in charge of around 32,000 employees since December 1, 2019, who, among other things, make proposals for new EU laws and monitor compliance with the European Union treaties. The 65-year-old also sits at the table as an EU representative at almost all major international summits such as the G7 or G20. The US Magazine Forbes recently named von der Leyen the “most powerful woman in the world”.