Green light for EU's next trilateral leadership

Late on Thursday evening, it was announced that the preferred trio had the backing of the EU heads of state and government.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni voted against Costa and Kallas and abstained in favour of von der Leyen, but did not put forward an alternative candidate.

Meloni, who leads the right-wing nationalist Brothers of Italy party, has criticised the distribution of top posts between Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and liberals.

In X, Meloni wrote that she could not support the three-party group's proposal because it disrespected voters.

After the EU elections The ECR party family, to which Meloni’s party belongs, has grown significantly. In the EU Parliament, it could become the third-largest party group. This has not been reflected in the distribution of top jobs.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also belongs to the ECR family but supported the settlement.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also had objections. He voted against Ursula von der Leyen, abstained in the Kaja Kallas case and said yes to Antonio Costa.

At a press conference after the summit, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said there were no other proposals on the table, and the trio appeared to be able to get support in the EU parliament.

-They are good, respectful and helpful people, and they also have extensive experience in what we do. The Prime Minister summarized this comprehensive solution that has good potential.

Technically, you don't have to do this. All 27 EU leaders stand behind the appointments. But politically, many saw it as inappropriate to run over Giorgia Meloni, who represents one of the largest European Union countries and one of the largest party families.

EU leaders have therefore nominated Ursula von der Leyen for another five years as European Commission president. But before she can take office, she must be approved by a majority in the EU Parliament. She has the support of the three main centrist party groups: the Social Democrats, the liberal Renewal Party and the conservative European People’s Party.

Also the European Commission that The European Parliament must obtain full approval, which will not happen until the fall of this year. Since the EU's foreign affairs chief is also the Foreign Affairs Commissioner, this means that Kaja Kallas can't really breathe yet.

The only position that is now completely clear is that of Antonio Costa, who will become the next president of the European Council and will therefore be responsible for leading future EU summits.

Next week, it will become clear what the party groups in the EU Parliament look like. Above all, on the right, there are still big question marks about which parties belong to which groups.

Polins said on Thursday, Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his party, the nationalist conservative Law and Justice (PiS), is considering leaving the European Constitutional Party and instead creating a new party group with Hungary's Fidesz and other parties from eastern and central Europe.

In this case, the European Council would be eliminated by twenty members, which would reduce Meloni's ability to claim influence over the EU's strategic decisions.

The top jobs in the European Union are not only about balancing political orientations, but also about geography and gender balance.

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