European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a German conservative, is seeking to renew her mandate as head of the European Union’s executive branch after the upcoming European elections in June. This intent was conveyed to party colleagues at a CDU gathering in Berlin on Monday.
Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, disclosed the decision during a news conference held with von der Leyen following the party meeting in Berlin.
The formal backing from her European political family is expected at the March meeting of the European People’s Party in Bucharest, but the window for presenting alternative candidates closes this week with no other names on the table so far.
Von der Leyen’s bid positions her as the lead candidate for the European People’s Party in the elections held across the Union from June 6 to 9, with the final tally in some member states including Spain on June 9.
The continuation of von der Leyen’s leadership hinges on a broader decision by EU heads of state and government. After the elections, they will negotiate who fills top positions across the bloc, including the presidency of the Commission, the European Council, and the Parliament. Any appointment also requires the approval of the European Parliament, which previously backed her nomination in 2019 by a narrow margin.
Von der Leyen, trained as a physician and now 65, became the first woman to lead the European Commission nearly five years ago. Her tenure has encompassed managing critical moments such as coordinating the 27-member bloc’s COVID-19 response and supporting Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
During this period, she managed to win cross-party support, including from Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who expressed conditional backing last summer should the PPE hand the commission presidency back to the bloc’s center-right coalition.
Nevertheless, a controversial trip to Israel after the October 7 Hamas attacks—despite no formal portfolio in foreign policy—combined with divergent views across the 27 EU members and perceived weakness on climate policy during farmer protests, have tempered her image as a unifying figure.
Her leadership remains a balancing act as the EU grapples with strategic and economic challenges, including climate policy, defense, and post-pandemic recovery, while seeking to maintain cohesion among diverse member states and political groups. The coming weeks will reveal how much support she can muster within the PPE and among the wider EU institutions as the bloc marches toward the June elections and a reshuffle of top offices.