EU leaders reached a summit agreement on Thursday to reappoint Ursula von der Leyen as the head of the European Commission and select Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the bloc’s top diplomat.
The late-night agreement, announced by EU officials, outlines the distribution of the EU’s top institutional roles for the next five years. Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa is set to lead the European Council, which brings together member states.
All three nominees come from the centrist alliance that holds a majority in the EU parliament following recent elections. Despite gains by the far-right, including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who publicly opposed the top jobs deal, the centrists prevailed.
While Costa, 62, will automatically succeed Council President Charles Michel later this year, both von der Leyen, 65, and Kallas, 47, must secure majority support in the European Parliament. The initial vote for the commission chief is set for July and is expected to be close.
Von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, faced numerous crises during her first term, including the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war. If confirmed, she will tackle challenges such as the Russian threat, climate change, and a rising China.
The final lineup was largely anticipated, as key leaders had agreed on the names days earlier. The agreement distributes posts among von der Leyen’s center-right European People’s Party (EPP), Costa’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and Kallas’s centrist Renew Europe.
Additionally, lawmakers are expected to reappoint the EPP’s Roberta Metsola as EU Parliament president.
Despite the centrists’ strong position, diplomats emphasized the importance of reaching a consensus. Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban criticized the deal as a “stitch-up,” arguing that European voters had been deceived. However, his opposition did not derail the accord, which required the support of 15 out of 27 leaders.
Leaders were more focused on gaining the support of Italy’s Meloni, who described the deal-making process as “surreal” and accused fellow leaders of acting like “oligarchs.” She argued that the success of her hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) grouping, set to become the EU Parliament’s third-largest force, and Italy’s status as the bloc’s third-largest economy, should be reflected in the EU leadership.
