EU leaders nominate von der Leyen for second term as Commission chief

European Union leaders agreed to nominate Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body.

At a summit in Brussels, the bloc's 27 national leaders also picked former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chair of their European Council meetings and selected Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.

"Mission accomplished! The European Council has delivered," the body's current chair, Charles Michel, told reporters early on Friday morning.

The leadership package represents continuity at the top of the bloc of some 450 million people, with centrist pro-EU factions keeping hold of top posts despite a far-right surge in elections to the European Parliament earlier this month.

The trio won broad backing but right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni abstained from the vote on von der Leyen and voted against Costa and Kallas, according to diplomats.

Meloni said on X that she decided not to support the leadership slate "out of respect for the citizens and the indications that came from those citizens during the elections."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another right-winger, voted against von der Leyen and did not vote for Kallas, diplomats said.

Von der Leyen's nomination still needs approval from the European Parliament in a secret ballot - widely seen as a trickier proposition than her endorsement by EU leaders.

"It is a matter of convincing - if possible - a broad majority for a strong Europe," von der Leyen said. "This is what I'm going to be working for."

The leadership package is balanced politically as well as geographically.

Von der Leyen hails from the center-right, Costa from the center-left, and Kallas from Europe's liberal group.

"This is an enormous responsibility in this time of geopolitical tensions. There's war in Europe, but there's also growing instability globally," Kallas told reporters.

Costa said he would be "fully committed to promoting unity among the 27 member states" in his new role.

At the summit, the EU also signed a security agreement with Ukraine, debated how to bolster EU defenses against Russia, and agreed bloc's strategic priorities for the next five years.

The security deal underlines EU support for Kyiv fighting off Moscow's invasion for a third year, despite gains by the far-right in European elections, uncertainty created by French snap elections, and the US presidential vote in November.

Reuters