Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as president of the European Commission following a secret ballot among MEPs.
She secured the backing of 401 Members of the European Parliament at a vote in Strasbourg on Thursday – 41 more than she needed.
Ms von der Leyen, of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), was first elected in 2019.
She will now serve another five years at the helm of the EU.
“You can imagine this is a very emotional and special moment for me,” she said after the vote, hailing the result as a sign of strong confidence.
Speaking to reporters, she added that the most important thing for Europe was to defend its democracy “which is under attack from inside and from outside”.
Her remarks echoed a speech to MEPs earlier on Thursday, in which she spoke out against what she called the “demagogues and extremists” that “destroy our European way of life” and promised to collaborate with “all the democratic forces” in the Parliament.
Ahead of the vote, Ms von der Leyen also said she would champion European defence with increased military spending, and committed to sticking to climate targets.
“The last five years have shown what we can do together. Let us do it again. Let us make the choice of strength,” she said.
Ms von der Leyen’s nomination was approved at an EU leaders’ summit last month, although not all of them backed her.
Credit: bbc.com
