EU’s von der Leyen faces precarious vote on new term
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00:00Despite Ursula von der Leyen's efforts to bolster support as she seeks a second term
00:05as European Commission president, the outcome of the vote is far from certain.
00:10To clinch a second term, von der Leyen needs the votes of at least 361 lawmakers.
00:16The three groups expected to back her, the European People's Party, the Socialists and
00:20Democrats and Renew, have a total of 401 MEPs.
00:26But among them, some are expected to defect.
00:29There's an expectation that there will be some of the EPP groups, some of the Socialists
00:37and Democrats and some of Renew, who will, for various different reasons and different
00:42cases, not vote in line with the group position.
00:47During her first term, von der Leyen helped to mobilise EU support for Keeve, put in place
00:52the EU's €800bn response to the Covid pandemic, and oversaw the launch of the world's largest
00:57package of policies to tackle climate change.
01:01But some MEPs accuse her of not outlining concrete plans.
01:05We need to nail her down, especially not only because of her sect, but also because of the
01:10lack of trust I have in EPP after what happened in the last mandate, especially in my topics
01:15on the Green Deal, where they often seek majorities with the rights.
01:21If you want to have the votes of the SND, you have to make sure that you don't collaborate
01:26with the right and this needs commitment to some common projects.
01:29However, some critics may choose to support her, given that blocking her appointment could
01:34throw the EU into political deadlock.
01:36If we are not going to get a president elected now and that we'll move to after the summer,
01:43I think we're not doing service to a lot of people.
01:46The American elections are coming up and we all see the turmoil in the United States.
01:50The war in Ukraine is ongoing, the uncertainty is in the Middle East, the ongoing manslaughter
01:55also in Gaza.
01:56It's continuing.
01:57It's very clear we need stability from the European Union side.
02:02von der Leyen has reportedly managed to convince some members of the right-wing European Conservatives
02:07and Reformists to support her.
02:10The ECR includes Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni's Brothers of Italy group, which has
02:15not confirmed whether its 24 members will back von der Leyen.