Following NATO, EU Also Elected New Leadership: Kaja Kallas, António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen again
The EU leaders have chosen the new leadership of the bloc for the next 5 years for three key positions. The Iron Lady Kaja Kallas will replace Josep Borrell, Antonio Costa will replace Charles Michel, and Ursula von der Leyen will be in office for the second time. Accordingly, Antonio Costa has been nominated for the post of President of the European Council, Kaja Kallas has been nominated as a suitable candidate for the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated as a candidate for a second consecutive term as President of the European Commission.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was elected by the European Council as the next High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, succeeding Josep Borrell. Although she has the support of her colleagues in the Council of Europe, she still needs a decision from the European Parliament before her official appointment. In a vote scheduled for September, she will need the support of a majority of the parliament's foreign affairs committee. If she is appointed, she will be the first Eastern European to hold the post and the first Estonian to hold one of the EU's highest offices.
Antonio Costa, a socialist from Portugal, will become the new President of the European Council. After being elected by his colleagues, he will take office on 1 December and replace Charles Michel. Costa promised that his mandate would be continuous and "focused on implementing the strategic agenda that #EUCO has endorsed today and that will guide the European Union over the next five years". Costa was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024. He resigned after being investigated for illegal investment deals in lithium and green hydrogen projects. However, he now has witness status and this was not a problem for his appointment.
Ursula von der Leyen will return to the post of President of the European Commission after she secures the votes in the European Council. She only needs the approval of the European Parliament. Von der Leyen was first appointed to the post in 2019, becoming the first female president of the European Commission. Since then, she has witnessed many of the EU's most important developments. A German citizen born in Ixell, a suburb of Brussels, von der Leyen began her political career in local politics as a member of the Lower Saxony parliament. She is known for her support of Ukraine in opposition to the Russian war.
On Wednesday, the ambassadors of 32 NATO member states officially nominated Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of the Alliance. He will take office on 1 October for a minimum four-year term, replacing former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg after a decade in office.
Mark Rutte first became prime minister of the Netherlands in 2010 and has since been the longest-serving prime minister in the country. In July last year, he resigned after his four-party coalition collapsed over the issue of how to curb migration.
When Rutte was prime minister of the Netherlands, he lived in the same neighbourhood of The Hague where he grew up and cycles to work every day and is known as a man of habit.
Rutte confidently secured his appointment, which was opposed by Hungary's pro-Russian Prime Minister Orban because of, among other things, the use of the country's money to support Ukraine.