Ursula von der Leyen elected for 2nd term as EC Chief

The European Parliament on Thursday re-elected Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as president of the European Commission with 401 votes in her favour.

Von der Leyen needed to get a majority of at least 361 votes in the 720-seat chamber to be re-elected in the secret ballot.

The first woman to lead the EU's executive arm, von der Leyen campaigned on her crisis management record in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Von der Leyen's successful re-election to lead the powerful commission for another five years is a signal of stability for the European Union during testing times of war and surging far-right movements.

Von der Leyen faced a tight vote - in 2019 she only secured the post by nine votes. Her majority this time is much larger at 40.

In total, 284 votes were cast against von der Leyen with 15 abstentions and seven votes declared invalid.

In her speech to the European Parliament before the vote, von der Leyen pledged action on the EU's economy and defence industry while promising to defend democracy.

Von der Leyen told EU lawmakers she was "ready to lead the fight" against extremist political forces.

The EU legislature, which now features two new far-right groups, is gathered in Strasbourg, France for the first time since the European elections that were characterized by a shift in support to the right.

Policy promises and pledges

The German member of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) trod a fine line in her speech, balancing plans to support industry and businesses with social policies like a new focus on housing.

Von der Leyen announced new EU funds to boost economic competitiveness and industrial development in clean energy technology, and pledged that the commission would address housing in the EU for the first time with the policy area added to a commissioner's responsibilities.

Other measures included a pledge to legally enshrine a target to reduce EU carbon emissions by 90% by 2040, however, von der Leyen said that she would push for exemptions for so-called e-fuels in the bloc's contested phase-out of combustion engines.

Von der Leyen also proposed to beef up the EU's border controls and triple the number of border guards and coastguards to 30,000. She also laid out plans to bolster Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency.

The former German defence minister also promised to establish a new commissioner for defence that will help build a "true European Defence Union" for the arms industry.

In a policy document published before the vote, von der Leyen stressed that EU countries will always be responsible for their armies.

In a notable overture to business-friendly parties in the parliament, von der Leyen promised her commission would tackle regulation and bureaucracy to "get rid of burdensome micromanagement."

In a sharp aside, von der Leyen condemned again Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's recent visit to Moscow as "nothing more than an appeasement mission."

The parliamentary arithmetic

Since her nomination by EU leaders in June, von der Leyen has tried to build a broad coalition of support in the EU legislature to secure a second term.

The centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the liberal Renew Europe groups are the main sources of votes in the centrist coalition to re-elect von der Leyen, with 136 and 77 seats respectively. Her own EPP group is the biggest with 188 seats.

On paper, von der Leyen had a majority with this coalition with 401 seats from these three groups. However, defections were possible under the vote's secret ballot.

Von der Leyen was not even guaranteed to gain every vote from her own group, the EPP, due to disagreements over the impact of climate policy on farmers, for example.

Irish members of the Renew Europe group meanwhile said they wouldn't back von der Leyen over her commission's support for Israel during the war on Hamas in Gaza.

During the European elections, von der Leyen courted support among EU legislators from the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI) as a buffer of support.

However, the FdI's Nicola Procaccini, from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), declined to say clearly if his group, or fellow Italian EU lawmakers, would vote for von der Leyen, and referenced national interests in his parliament speech ahead of the vote.

Von der Leyen criticized

In a short speech, Jordan Bardella from the new far-right Patriots of Europe (PfE) group - created by Orbán – said his alliance of EU lawmakers would not back her, and slammed von der Leyen's migration and climate policies.

Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik, from the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group said they would not back von der Leyen, claiming that she was responsible for every rape committed by a migrant in the EU, because her policies invite them to Europe - an intervention that was loudly booed in the parliament.

The left-wing The Left group led by Manon Aubry said her group would not support von der Leyen, criticising her for not pursuing more policies to ensure social equality.

Aubry also called for her to face legal consequences after an EU court ruled that the commission under von der Leyen had failed to give the public sufficient access to the purchase agreements for Covid-19 vaccines.

While von der Leyen secured a major deal with Pfizer to procure Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, the terms of the contracts - including what price the EU paid - have never been made public.

Von der Leyen in her response to the criticisms called for the EU legislature's parties to come together at a time when society is highly polarized, and promised her commitment to cooperation.

The commission president leads the EU's powerful executive arm, charged with developing new EU policies, enforcing existing EU laws and representing the bloc at international summits like the G7.