EU leaders struck a deal Thursday to return Ursula von der Leyen as head of the powerful European Commission, while tapping Estonia’s prime minister Kaja Kallas as the bloc’s top diplomat.
The late-night accord carves up the EU’s top institutional jobs for the next five years, with former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa to head the European Council bringing together member states.
All three nominees hail from the centrist alliance that dominates the EU parliament following elections this month, despite gains by the far right including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who put up public resistance to the top jobs deal.
While Costa, 62, will automatically succeed Council president Charles Michel, both von der Leyen, 65, and Kallas, 47, need to lock in majority support in the European Parliament.
Von der Leyen expressed her “gratitude” to the leaders gathered in Brussels — telling reporters she would soon outline her political priorities with a view to winning the confidence of parliament.
Declaring himself “committed to promoting unity” among member states, Costa said that “Europe and the world are facing challenging moments, yes, but the European Union has demonstrated its resilience in the past.”
Kallas meanwhile said she had been handed “an enormous responsibility” at a time of acute geopolitical tensions.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the “quick, forward-looking” decisions on top jobs, saying the nominess would “ensure that Europe is well positioned in challenging times in the coming years.”
‘Wrong in method’
With France heading to the polls Sunday for the first round of an election where the far-right National Rally has a chance of leading the government, there was clear eagerness to get the EU jobs squared away.
Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban had denounced it as a stitch-up, saying “European voters have been deceived”, though his opposition was not enough to derail the accord, which needed support of 15 out of 27 leaders.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who had called the deal-making process “surreal” and accused fellow leaders of acting like “oligarchs”.
Her argument was that the election success of her hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) grouping, set to be the EU Parliament’s third-largest force, as well as Italy’s standing as the bloc’s third-biggest economy, should be reflected in the EU leadership.
Short of a seat at the top table, Meloni made clear she wanted an influential role for Italy, starting with a vice presidency in the next European Commission with a say over industry and agriculture.
In the end, Meloni abstained on the vote for commission chief, and voted against both Costa and Kallas, diplomats said.
Emma Charlton with AFP
