Von der Leyen flirts with second term, outlines
priorities
EU Commission chief would ‘keep the direction of
travel’ while adapting to a changing world in potential new mandate.
BY JAMIL
ANDERLINI AND NICOLAS CAMUT
NOVEMBER
29, 2023 1:00 PM CET
TERVUREN,
Belgium — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has yet to
announce if she will seek another term in office, seems open to the idea of
another run at the helm of the EU’s executive.
Asked at a
POLITICO event Tuesday evening what she would do differently during a second
mandate, von der Leyen said she would “keep the direction of travel for the big
topics” from her current mandate — namely the Green Deal, the digital
transitions and resilience.
But the
Commission chief also stressed that Europe would need flexibility to adapt to a
changing world.
“The world
is dictating partially what the tasks of the day are,” von der Leyen said. “You
have to integrate [this] in your political life too.”
Since then,
she has decisively steered the bloc through a series of crises, from the
COVID-19 pandemic to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which earned her a reputation for
making major moves without consulting national capitals or, at times, her own
commissioners.
Von der
Leyen, who has also been rumored to be eyeing another top international job at
the end of her term (such as, for example, the NATO secretary-general gig), has
been tight-lipped about her future.
And Tuesday
evening was no exception. Asked directly if she would go for another term as
Commission president, von der Leyen said: “Typically I say ‘nice try’ when this
question comes.”
“So
unfortunately I have to leave you with that big question mark,” the Commission
chief added.
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