During the plenary session in November II 2019, Ursula von der Leyen,&nbsp;President-elect of the EC, presents her team and programme. Parliament voted the entire list of candidates proposed by the President-elect and the Council by simple majority in a roll call vote. The college of Commissioners and their programme is approved. Results of the vote: 461 in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions.

Parliament’s Conference of Presidents declared the Commissioner-designate hearings process complete on Thursday 21 November 2019.

The new European Commission officially takes up its duties on 1 December 2019.

Election of the 2019-2024 Commission

On 2 July 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated by the European Council for the Presidency of the European Commission.

If confirmed by the European Parliament, she will be the first woman and the first German since Walter Hallstein to hold the office.

She is a German politician, serving as Minister of Defence since 2013 and is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Ursula von der Leyen

The European Parliament elects the President of the European Commission. First opportunity is the July II session (15-18 July).

After the elections, one of the first tasks of an incoming Parliament is to elect a new President of the European Commission (the EU’s executive body). Member States have already nominated a candidate for the post: Ursula VON DER LEYEN, former German Federal Minister for Defense.

Moreover, Parliament needs to approve the new President of the Commission by an absolute majority (half of the existing MEPs plus one). If the candidate does not obtain the required majority, the Member States need to propose another candidate within a month's time (European Council acting by qualified majority).

Appointment of the President of the European Commission

Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, will deliver her first State of the European Union Address on 16 September 2020.

Every year in September, the President of the European Commission delivers his State of the European Union Address before the European Parliament, taking stock of achievements of the past year and presenting priorities for the year ahead. The President also sets out how the European Commission will address the most pressing challenges the European Union is facing. The speech is followed by a plenary debate.

State of the European Union 2020

EP President Roberta Metsola meets Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa

EU Leaders meet in Budapest for an informal European Council meeting. Competitiveness is on top of the agenda and is discussed in depth during an informal meeting of Heads of State or Government on 8 November 2024, which is expected to result in a ‘Budapest Declaration’.

Informal European Council in Budapest

Parliament to vote on Ursula von der Leyen’s nomination for Commission President

If elected by MEPs on Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen is set to return to the office of European Commission President for the next five years.

At 09.00 on Thursday, she will take the floor in Parliament’s plenary session and outline her vision and plans as Commission President, followed by a debate with MEPs.

The vote by secret paper ballot will take place at 13.00, following the debate. 

Background
Article 14 of the Treaty of the European Union provides that the EP “shall elect the President of the Commission.” In practice, based on Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (rule 128), the candidate proposed by the European Council has to present their political guidelines to Parliament, followed by a debate. Parliament then elects the President of the Commission by a majority of its component MEPs - i.e. 361, in a Parliament of 720 Members. If the candidate does not obtain the required majority, the President will invite the European Council to put forward another within one month, for election in accordance with the same procedure.

Ms von der Leyen has been Commission President since 2019 and was the EPP’s lead candidate in the 6 - 9 June European elections.

Election of the President of the European Commission

EP Plenary session - Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 December 2024

EP Plenary session.- Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 December 2024

Strasbourg's Plenary session through the lens . Week 4

Pre- summit EPP

Roberta METSOLA, EP President meets with Ursula Von Der LEYEN, EC President and Antonio COSTA, President of the European Council.

EP and EC joint press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Ursula von der LEYEN, President of the European Commission following the Parliament’s vote on the College of Commissioners

New College of Commissioners family photo.

EP Plenary session - Voting session - Election of the College of Commissioners

EP Plenary session - Presentation by the Commission President elect of the College of Commissioners and its programme

MEPs review the outcome of the 19 December European Council meeting with Presidents António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen. The latest developments in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East are among the expected topics of discussion. Opening statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission.

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 December 2024: Opening statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission

This news item shows extracts from the debate in which MEPs assess with European Commission and Council presidents the results of the 19 December EU summit. In particular, they take stock of the latest events in Ukraine and the Middle East, economic competitiveness, bilateral relations with the United States, and migration policies.

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 December 2024: extracts from the debate

Before the start of the European Council meeting on 19th December 2024, European People Party (EPP) leaders meet in the Sofitel Hotel in Place Jourdan, in Brussels. Leaders discuss their priorities on migration, security and economy in the context of war in Ukraine, tensions in Georgia, fall of the Assad regime in Syria and a few weeks before Donald Trump takes office in the White House.

EPP leaders meet ahead of the European Council meeting: arrivals and doorsteps

In a debate with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Barna Zsigmond, Hungary’s Deputy-Minister for European Union Affairs, MEPs outline their expectations for the European Council meeting taking place on Thursday 19 December, focusing on the situation in the Middle East, the EU’s support to Ukraine in its war against Russia, and crisis prevention and migration management. Opening statement by Barna ZSIGMOND, Hungarian Deputy-Minister for European Union Affairs and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Preparation of the European Council of 19-20 December 2024: Opening statement by Barna ZSIGMOND, Hungarian Deputy-Minister for European Union Affairs and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission

At the House of the European History in Brussels (Belgium), Roberta METSOLA, EP President meets with António COSTA, President of the European Council and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission.

Roberta METSOLA, EP President meets with António COSTA, President of the European Council and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission: family photo and meeting

Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, hold a press conference following the Parliament’s vote on the College of Commissioners. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Joint press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission following the Parliament’s vote on the College of Commissioners

President METSOLA signs the transmission letter on the election of the European Commission and presents to Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission the signed transmission letter. While most of the MEP's are applauding, Roberta METSOLA and Ursula VON DER LEYEN do a picture together with the transmission letter. Ursula VON DER LEYEN gets congratulations by most oft the group leaders and shakes hands with some of the new commissioners.

Signature of the Transmission Letter on the election of the European Commission by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

Parliament’s committees subjected each Commissioner-designate to individual public hearings between 4 and 12 November. MEPs assessed their suitability to become Commissioners, as well as their ability to carry out the duties linked to their respective portfolios. Once Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (President Metsola and the political group leaders) has conducted the final evaluation and declared the hearings process closed, the full Parliament will vote on the entire list of candidates. The roll call vote on the new Commission is scheduled for Wednesday at noon.

VON DER LEYEN, Ursula (DE, EC)

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