Was von der Leyen's charm offensive enough to get MEP approval?

Was von der Leyen's charm offensive enough to get MEP approval?
By Shoshana Dubnow
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Von der Leyen finished her meetings with political groups in Brussels, but it's unclear if she will win the absolute majority of votes in Strasbourg. In other news, Angela Merkel decided to change protocol to prevent her from shaking. All this and more in the State of the Union.

Von der Leyen's charm offensive

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Ursula von der Leyen spent last week attempting to win over political parties in Brussels, but the opposition against her still remains. It's unclear whether von der Leyen will gain the absolute majority when MEPs vote on her nomination in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

After her charm offensive, parties like the Greens announced that they would not vote for her. The party's leaders said that her performance left them unimpressed.

Europeans protest EU-Mercosur deal, free flow of data

Belgian farmers showed up at the European Commission's doorstep and made their disapproval with the EU-Mercosur deal heard.

They fear that the market will be flooded with cheap produce, leading to a collapse of prices and social dumping.

In other protesting news...

An Austrian data protection activist continued his crusade against US tech giants by taking Facebook to court. He's arguing that the social network is providing US intelligence agencies with data they should not have. 

The European Court of Justice will look into whether or not there are limits to this type of data collection.

Merkel turns to "chair precaution"

After her third shaking episode at a public event, the German chancellor reportedly requested a change of protocol.

Angela Merkel sat through the national anthems while hosting the Danish Prime Minister, and as a result, things appeared more relaxed.

Next week

The race for the next British Prime Minister is on, and the two remaining candidates will square off in the final two TV debates.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have two more chances to convince party members that they are the better candidate to lead the country out of the European Union.

The Mercosur summit will take place in Santa Fe, Argentina. Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and the host country will debate the ratification of the free trade agreement with the EU.

Finally, the European Parliament will vote on Tuesday to confirm or reject Ursula von der Leyen as the next European Commission President.

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