BERLIN (Reuters) -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday vowed to defend democracy from those who sought to destroy it as she won the backing from German conservatives for another five-year term running the European Union’s executive body.
At a meeting of the party leadership, Germany’s opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) gave their support to von der Leyen to be their candidate for Commission president, putting her in a strong position to retain the post.
The 65-year-old former German defence minister is now likely to become the candidate of the pan-European centre-right umbrella group, the European People’s Party (EPP), at a congress in Bucharest in March.
“The most important thing is democracy, the rule of law that we defend and the peace that we have together,” von der Leyen said at a news conference following the party meeting in Berlin.
She said her election campaign wanted to make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin and far-right parties in Europe that “democracy in Europe is in their way.”
“They want to destroy it, they want to destroy Europe and that is why it is so important that people help to ensure that their Europe is preserved,” she said.
The first woman to hold the job, von der Leyen steered the EU through the COVID-19 pandemic, the formal exit of Britain from the bloc and the ructions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Von der Leyen would begin a second term as Europe seeks to strengthen its security, with Russia waging war on its borders, the chance of former U.S. President Donald Trump returning to the White House and the far-right gaining ground.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY
Speaking after her nomination, von der Leyen said she would also focus on boosting Europe’s competitiveness, harnessing artificial intelligence technology within a social market economy, and implementing a migration pact across the bloc.
At a security conference in Munich at the weekend, she floated a defence strategy aimed at fostering higher and more efficient spending, with joint procurement and agreements to give predictability to industry.
“We have to expand Europe’s defence capability and I’m thinking especially of the industrial base,” she said on Monday.
Her European supporters welcomed her bid, with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte backing her to “revive” Europe’s defence industry and “push back the dictators”.
But she has critics, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who clashed repeatedly with Brussels on issues such as aid for Ukraine and migration.
BROAD BACKING
By convention, a candidate is chosen from the grouping that has come first in the June EU elections. As polls show the EPP has a strong lead and von der Leyen enjoys broad backing among EU leaders, she seems likely to win another term.
Her highest hurdle may be getting her Commission confirmed by a majority in the Parliament.
In office, von der Leyen spearheaded a landmark scheme in which the EU took on hundreds of billions of euros of joint debt to fund the continent’s recovery from the pandemic.
She also oversaw a programme for the joint purchase of coronavirus vaccines, which was criticised for a sluggish rollout, but ultimately delivered large quantities.
She has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, playing a key role in imposing sanctions against Russia, providing tens of billions of euros in aid to Kyiv and putting Ukraine on a path towards EU membership.
Von der Leyen also championed a “Green Deal” vision of climate policies as a route to economic growth and job creation, which is facing increased political pushback.
Alberto Alemanno, EU law professor at France’s HEC university, said she had a serious chance to win a second term.
“Yet to secure the job she might be asked by the CDU to undo her major achievements during her tenure – from delaying climate action to suspending the enlargement and reform of the Union – while being asked to pursue the latter by the Socialists, Liberals and Greens,” he said.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Riham Alkousaa, Andrew Gray, Kate Abnett and Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Matthias Williams, Gareth Jones and Sharon Singleton)