Almost four months before the European elections, incumbent Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday, February 19, that she was running to retain her post at the head of the European executive.
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“Today I am making a conscious and considered decision: I want to run for a second term,” the 65-year-old German official said at a news conference after receiving the CDU’s endorsement. of which she is a member. The former German Defense Minister has held this position at the head of the Commission since the last European elections in 2019.
During her first term, Ms von der Leyen notably launched a gigantic European economic recovery plan worth €750 billion, financed by unprecedented shared debt, a tangible symbol of European solidarity. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it loudly showed its support for Kiev and developed a strategy to end energy dependence on Moscow.
Throughout her term in office, she also vigorously defended the European Green Deal, particularly known for its climate-related aspect, even if this sometimes meant clashing with her own political family, the EPP Group (right) in the European Parliament.