Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas

The German Ursula von der Leyen she will repeat a second term as head of the Commission; former portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will be the president of the European Council; and the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallaswill replace Josep Borrell as High Representative of Foreign Affairs. For her part, the popular Maltese Roberta Metsola will continue as president of the European Parliament during the first half of the legislature.

The pact was closed during a telematic meeting between the six negotiators, as confirmed by Moncloa sources. The president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez and the german Olaf Scholz they represent the socialists; while the Polish Donald Tusk and the greek Kyriakos Mitsotakis They act as popular spokespersons; and the french Emmanuel Macron and the dutch Mark Rutte They act in the name of liberals.

[Los 27 fracasan en su primer intento de elegir a los nuevos altos cargos: el PPE pide más poder]

The shortlist formed by Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas respects all the complex balances that demands the distribution of senior positions in the EU, starting with gender equality. Von der Leyen comes from a large central European country and is the candidate of the European People’s Party. Costa, a close ally of Sánchez in Brussels during the last term, has been nominated by the socialists and also represents the southern countries. For his part, Kallas belongs to the liberal family and will be the voice of the Eastern countries.

This agreement of the ‘grand coalition’ forces must still be confirmed by the heads of State and Government at the summer summit being held on June 27 and 28 in Brussels. The pact leaves out the radical rightthe political family to which the Italian belongs Giorgia Melonithe Hungarian Viktor Orbán and the Czech Peter Fiala.

The three – and particularly Meloni – have already expressed their discomfort at being left out of the negotiations at the previous summit on June 17, but they do not have veto power: all appointments are by qualified majority.

In fact, the appointments of Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas could have been closed at that June 17 summit. The agreement was derailed because the European People’s Party (EPP) demanded more power in the distribution based on his clear victory in the 9-J elections. Specifically, the popular party asked to limit Costa’s mandate to 2 and a half years, so that the presidency of the European Council would pass to his political family during the second half of the legislature.

In the end, the agreement establishes that the former Portuguese prime minister will have a first term of two and a half years, as established by the Treaty. But does not prejudge that it cannot be renewed for another two and a half years.

The ‘grand coalition’ negotiators They still aspire to add Meloni to the agreement. The Italian prime minister has already made it known that she wants more power for her country. “We want to obtain a vice presidency of the European Commissiona strong police station and a good European policy in favor of industry and agriculture,” said its Foreign Minister last weekend, Antonio Tajani.

Von der Leyen herself has been courting Meloni since the election campaign, not only to get her vote in the European Council but also that of its 24 seats. According to the last count, The ‘grand coalition’ has 399 seats of the 720 in the European Parliament. That is, the German could in principle reach the absolute majority of 361 deputies that she needs to be ratified as head of the Commission. But she continues to aspire to the support of the Brothers of Italy as a safety net to cover possible vote leaks.