Europe

Home page

Europe

Germany’s conservatives back EU’s von der Leyen for second term — if she wants it

Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

17 April 2023 17:01 (UTC +04:00)

Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats will support Ursula von der Leyen if she chooses to seek a second term in 2024 as the EU’s top executive, party leader Friedrich Merz said Monday, APA reports citing POLITICO.

Merz, whose party is Germany’s main opposition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, made the remarks alongside von der Leyen, the European Commission president, who was in Berlin for meetings with leaders from her political family, the CDU.

“She has our support in the event of a corresponding willingness,” Merz said, adding that he had conveyed this to Scholz as well, expressing the hope that Germany would propose von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen, however, was coy about her intentions. The Commission president’s term will be up in 2024 after the European election, and von der Leyen has yet to officially say whether she will push for another five-year stint.

“For me, it is very important that we show unity and strength in the European Union in these critical times, and therefore the institutions work as united as possible,” she said. “And that’s why it’s not the right time for me at the moment to answer this question for a next mandate.”