Does she want to remain head of the EU Commission? Or maybe become the first woman to head NATO? Ursula von der Leyen has so far not let herself be looked at. There is an important speech coming up today.
Strasbourg – Around nine months before the next European elections, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is increasingly confronted with questions about her future plans. Today the top German politician will give her annual State of the Union speech in the European Parliament. It is eagerly awaited whether she will give any hints about a possible candidacy. It is the last speech on the state of the EU before the European elections in June 2024.
In order to be able to remain at the head of the EU Commission for another five years, the CDU politician von der Leyen would have to be nominated as the top candidate of the European EVP party family for the European elections, as things currently stand. In addition to the German CDU and CSU, this includes the Austrian ÖVP, the Italian Forza Italia and Spain’s conservative People’s Party PP.
Successor to Stoltenberg?
So far, von der Leyen has publicly avoided all questions about a possible second term in office. One possible reason is that the 64-year-old doesn’t want to start the election campaign now, but wants to push ahead with important EU projects for a few more months.
But there is also speculation that the US government in particular would like to see her succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO Secretary General and that it wants to keep this option open. The Norwegian wants to finally resign from his position after the next major alliance summit in Washington in the summer of 2024.
As a former defense minister, von der Leyen is considered a possible ideal candidate for the top job. At the same time, however, a job change would probably ultimately result in a loss of power. As President of the Commission, the German is currently in charge of around 32,000 employees and is responsible for new EU legislative proposals. She also sits at the table as an EU representative at almost all major international summits such as the G7 or G20.
State of the Union Address
Stoltenberg’s job, on the other hand, is “only” that of a secretary general, who is primarily responsible for mediating between the different interests of the member states and representing NATO in the public. The number of employees on NATO’s international staff was recently only given as around 1,000 civilian and 500 military employees.
What has been announced so far is that von der Leyen wants to “explain the top priorities and flagship initiatives for the coming year” in her State of the Union speech. It is unclear whether the speech will also be an application for a new term of office.
According to a senior Commission official, the aim is to support war-torn Ukraine as well as the fight against illegal migration and climate change. Another important point is likely to be the EU’s competitiveness and the question of how we can become more independent when it comes to critical raw materials.
CDU leader Merz: “She has our support (…)”
The State of the Union speech is given by the President of the EU Commission in the European Parliament every September. It is based on the State of the Union address, which is considered one of the most important speeches by the US President.
A possible further term of office for von der Leyen is supported by the CDU leadership, among others. “She has our support if she is willing to do so,” said party leader Friedrich Merz in April after a CDU executive committee meeting. Von der Leyen said at the time about the question of running again that she had not yet made her decision. For them, it is important that the EU institutions work as one in these critical times. dpa
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