Von der Leyen to secure 2nd term as EU leaders reach deal

Germany's Ursula von der Leyen is poised for a second term as president of the European Commission after European political leaders reached a consensus on Tuesday, according to reports from multiple media outlets, said Xinhua.

Quoting officials from the European Union (EU), Politico said the agreement was reached among six EU leaders. They are Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The six leaders from three main centrist groups also agreed to the package that would see former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa to become president of the European Council and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas the EU foreign policy chief.

The leaders from EU member states are set to approve the deal at the upcoming EU summit in Brussels which will start on Thursday.

However, the deal has faced criticism. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his disapproval on the social media platform X, saying the agreement promotes division rather than inclusion. "EU top officials should represent every member state, not just leftists and liberals!" he added.