ČT24 | Von der Leyen re-elected as president of the European Commission

Ursula von der Leyen has retained her position as President of the European Commission. She received a total of 401 votes, significantly exceeding the required majority of 361 votes. The result was not as close as expected. What ultimately helped her achieve victory? And how difficult was it for her to negotiate support? Deputy Director and Head of the Brussels Office of EUROPEUM Institute, Žiga Faktor, commented for ČT24.

Her pre-election speech was of very high quality. I believe it particularly helped her gain the favour of some Green Party members, who were impressed by Ursula von der Leyen's continued emphasis on the goals of the Green Deal as something that must be upheld. She also highlighted the crucial role of the European Union's competitiveness and the importance of housing policy, which could have garnered support from the Social Democrats.

You can watch the entire commentary here from the 15th minute.

Žiga Faktor
Deputy Director & Head of Brussels Office

Expertise: European integration of Western Balkans, EU enlargement, Slovenian Politics and EU-Turkey relations