Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Kaja Kallas have been nominated to oversee the EU in the next five years, despite resistance from the Italian and Hungarian leaders.
What roles will Von der Leyen, Costa, and Kallas assume?
EU leaders arranged the bloc’s political leadership for the next five years at a meeting in Brussels despite opposition from the leaders of Italy and Hungary, Georgia Meloni and Viktor Orbán. Ursula von der Leyen was taken as president of the European Commission, António Costa as president of the EU Council, and Kaja Kallas as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
What is the Strategic Agenda endorsed by EU leaders?
EU Leaders also endorsed the Strategic Agenda, a document with broad brushstrokes of purposes that is meant to guide the future work of the three appointees. Von der Leyen and Kallas’s nominations are not absolute and still require verification by the European Parliament. By contrast, Costa, a former PM of Portugal, is automatically selected by his former peers. He will take office on 1 December.
How did Italy and Hungary react to the nominations?
Meloni voted against Costa and Kallas and refrained from von der Leyen. Orbán voted against von der Leyen, refrained from Kallas and supported Costa.
“I would plain and simply like to express my gratitude to the leaders who endorsed my nomination for a second mandate,” von der Leyen expressed of her nomination. “I am very honoured.”
What did Costa express about his nomination?
“It is with a strong sense of mission that I will take up the responsibility of being the next President of the European Council,” Costa stated, thanking his socialist family and the Portuguese government for their support. “I will be fully committed to promoting unity between all 27 member states and focused on putting on track the Strategic Agenda.”
“This is an immense responsibility at this moment of geopolitical tensions,” Kallas stated in a statement, promising to work “with pleasure” with both von der Leyen and Costa. “I will be at the service of our common interests,” she said. “Europe should be a place where people are free, safe and prosperous.”
Why did Meloni and Orbán oppose certain nominations?
Party arbitrators had preemptively locked the three-pronged deal during a call on Tuesday and tabled their bid on Thursday evening. After a debate among all leaders of state and government, the accord received the formal blessing. The conversations between the centrist parties had angered those left on the sidelines, most notably Italian PM Meloni, who had previously hit out at the “surreal” way in which the top-jobs package was created. Meloni, who leads the bloc’s third-largest economy, called for greater inclusion and deeper discussions.
“It seems to me that, so far, there’s been an unwillingness to account for the message delivered by citizens at the ballot box,” Meloni stated on the eve of the summit. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán was more scathing, reaching the deal “shameful.”
How did Belgium’s De Croo respond to Meloni’s criticism?
Diplomats in Brussels were concerned that, due to the explosive geopolitical environment surrounding the bloc, the image of executives haggling over well-paid positions for hours on end would seem out of touch. “Democracy is not only about blocking, democracy is about who wants to work together, and those three groups are willing to work together to the benefit of all Europeans,” stated Belgium’s Alexander De Croo, blaming Meloni’s criticism.
