The European Union has voted to reinstate Ursula von der Leyen as president of the commission for another five years.
Von der Leyen committed to investing in infrastructure and industry, establishing a new “European Defense Union,” and maintaining the continent’s green transition in an earlier speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
In a secret ballot, von der Leyen won reelection with 401 votes in favor and 284 against. In order to gain a majority in the 720-seat parliament, she required more than 360 ballots.
Von der Leyen, who presided over the commission during the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, will lead the bloc that shifted to the right following last month’s European elections, in which far-right parties won a record number of seats.
