With 401 votes in favour, the European Parliament elected Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission in a secret ballot on 18 July.

This will be Ursula von der Leyen’s second term as Commission President. She was first elected by MEPs in July 2019.

Parliament is currently composed of 719 MEPs, so the necessary majority was 360 votes. The vote was held by secret paper ballot. 401 MEPs voted in favour, 284 against, and 22 cast blank or invalid votes.

Ursula von der Leyen outlined her priorities ahead of the vote.&nbsp;Ursula von der Leyen put forward her vision for a stronger and more prosperous Europe. Key initiatives include a new Clean Industrial Deal to drive decarbonisation and industrial growth, and a European Competitiveness Fund to boost innovation.

She announced that she would boost security by doubling Europol’s staff and tripling the number of European Border and Coast Guards to 30 000. She proposed a European Democracy Shield for countering foreign information manipulation and interference, and a European Affordable Housing Plan.

Ms von der Leyen also suggested a plan for agriculture to address the need to adapt to climate change and a Roadmap for Women’s Rights. Saying that “we must enable young people to make the most of Europe’s freedoms”, she highlighted the importance of the Erasmus+ programme, mental health, and tackling issues related to screen time and social media, including addictive practices. She put significant focus on defence, proposing to create a new post of Commissioner for Defence to drive the European Defence Union and calling for a comprehensive aerial defence system – a European Air Shield – to protect EU airspace and “as a strong symbol of European unity in defence matters”.

Election of the 2024-2029 European Commission President

EP Plenary session - Motion of censure on the Commission B10-0319/2025

Joint press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President-elect of the European Commission

Election of the President of the European Commission: extracts from the joint press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Ursula von der LEYEN, President-elect of the European Commission

Election of the President of the European Commission: extracts from the results of the vote

Election of the President of the European Commission: announcement of the results of the vote

EP Plenary session - Election of the President of the Commission

Election of the President of the European Commission: order of business

Election of the President of the European Commission: atmosphere in the chamber

Election of the President of the European Commission: extracts from the arrival and speech by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, candidate President of the European Commission

Election of the President of the European Commission: atmosphere shots from the vote

Election of the President of the European Commission: extracts from the political groups leaders statements and from the debate

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: closing statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: MEPs debate (part 2)

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: answer by Ursula VON DER LEYEN

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: MEPs debate (part 1)

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: one round of political groups leaders

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: speech by Ursula VON DER LEYEN

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: opening of the session by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

Statement by Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, candidate for a second mandate 2024-2029: atmosphere in the chamber

Infoclip: Ursula VON DER LEYEN, Candidate for the European Commission Presidency (2024-2029)

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