Von der Leyen wins re-election following heated debate

Centrists have celebrated Ursula von der Leyen's win as a "major victory for pro-Europeans," as she secured a second-term without relying on votes from ultra-Conservative allies, Euronews' Mared Gwyn Jones reports.

"Today is an important day. Today, Europe wins. The pro-European political forces really had a big challenge, a big responsibility, to work together here for this result," Iratxe García, the leader of the Socialists and Democrats, told Euronews.

The Greens are likely to have made the difference in helping von der Leyen pass the 360 majority mark. The group's co-president Bas Eickhout told reporters it meant a four-party majority could now "get to work on the political programme that Ursula von der Leyen has laid out."

But coalitions in the European Parliament are unstable, meaning that despite von der Leyen's pledges to work with pro-European forces, right-wing majorities could hypothetical emerge to block legislation over the next term.

Read Mared's article here.

Pro-Europeans hail von der Leyen win as rebuff to extremism

Greens emerge as kingmakers as von der Leyen vows to keep the centrist coalition strong. #EuropeNews

Josep Borrell has tweeted congratulations

The US envoy to the EU, Mark Gitenstein has congratulated von der Leyen on her re-election, saying the relationship between the EU and US has never been stronger. Earlier von der Leyen was quizzed about what impact the return of President Donald Trump might have on her agenda for the next five years, see below.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof has congratulated von der Leyen, saying he looks forward to working together to "gain more control over migration, strengthen our economy and security, and improve the prospects of the agricultural sector."

Marcel Ciolacu has sent congratulations from Romania

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, has congratulated "dear Ursula" on her re-election.

"We will continue to work together to advance a more prosperous, sustainable and socially just European Union," he said on social media. "Spain will continue to be a loyal and constructive partner to advance the construction of a stronger Europe."

Although Sánchez, a socialist, and von der Leyen, a Christian democrat, hail from different political families, they have forged a close relationship in the past five years, starting with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their chemistry was palpable last year when the president travelled to Madrid to kick off the Spanish presidency of the EU Council. It was then that Sánchez expressed his wholehearted support for her second term, way before she had announced her re-election campaign.

Finland's Prime MInister Petteri Orpo has tweeted his congratulations with a picture of himself in a helicopter next to the Commission president.

Nikos Christodulides says he is eager to continue a "close & productive cooperation" with von der Leyen.

Austria will remain a trusted partner in shaping a stronger Europe, tweets Austrian premier Karl Nehammer, in reaction to von der Leyen's re-election.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has tweeted his congratulations, saying von der Leyen's election was hard-fought and that the EU Single Market is in need of a re-boost.

Here's the reaction of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson...

Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela joins in the congratulations...

Asked whether Donald Trump's potential return to the White House could throw her plans for a stronger Europe into disarray, von der Leyen said: "I think irrespective of elections in other parts of the world, it is important that we have what I emphasised many times, a stronger Europe."

"This includes, of course, that we reduce our dependencies. We will work very closely with our friends and allies, that is absolutely clear, but this does also include that we are building our own strength and that we are strengthening the qualities that Europe has."

Analysts say that last week's failed assassination attempt against Donald Trump could galvanise his voters and boost the former president's prospects of a return to power.

He's vowed to ramp up tariffs on European imports and has consistently questioned Western support for Ukraine, sparking fears Europe could be left on its own to prop up the war-torn country financially.

"I look forward to building my team for the next five years and in the coming weeks I will ask leaders to put forward their candidates," said von der Leyen in a presser after winning her re-appointment vote.

She will start interviewing candidates from mid-August, and said that she will ask for the choice of a man and a woman from each country, with the exception of incumbent Commissioners re-appointed by governments.

"Once again I want an equal share of men and women and the College table," she said, adding that she's confident her new team will prepare to pass confirmation hearings with the European Parliament.

During her re-election campaign, Ursula von der Leyen invited controversy by making increasingly explicit overtures to Giorgia Meloni and her hard-right group to secure their votes.

Now that she knows Meloni voted against her bid, does she regret it?

"The result shows the approach was the right one," she said in a press conference after her successful vote.

"We've been working very hard throughout the election campaign (to) bundle the democratic forces and to have a majority at the centre for a strong Europe. And, therefore the approach to say all those who are pro-European, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law, we offered to work together and the result today speaks for itself. It was the right approach."

Baltic leaders have taken to social media to congratulate Ursula von der Leyen on her re-election as president of the European Commission.

"This vote is a testament to your steadfast leadership in fostering a safe and prosperous," said Latvia's Evika Siliņa.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda wrote: "The world needs a strong Europe, while Europe needs determined leaders. I look forward to cooperate on building a safer, more competitive, prosperous and united."

"Despite all the crises, your excellent leadership has brought us closer and made Europe stronger," said Estonia's Kaja Kallas. "You are the right person for the job."

If everything goes according to plan, Kallas will soon join von der Leyen in Brussels as the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, who also serves as one of the Commission's vice-presidents.

The's UK's freshly installed Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has congratuled von der Leyen on her re-election, and looks forward to cosier cross-Channel relations.

Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland, has also congratulated Ursula von der Leyen, promising to work together to face the many crises affecting the bloc. As one of the leading voices in the European People's Party (EPP), Tusk was a strong backer of her re-election bid.

"Times are hard, but with your courage and determination, I’m sure you’ll do a great job. We will do, together," Tusk wrote in a short message posted on X.

His Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, also shared his best wishes. Fiala belongs to the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, the vast majority of which voted against von der Leyen.

"We agree on the need for a strong emphasis on the EU’s competitiveness, including the support of investments and the removal of administrative burdens," Fiala said on social media. "Likewise security is of great importance to us both, be it with regards to Russia or the migration crisis."

Carlo Fidanza, Brothers of Italy head of delegation at the European Parliament, told a press conference that the party of Italian premier Giorgia Meloni had voted against von der Leyen. “We did this despite having appreciated in recent months the collaborative spirit that has characterized the relationship between von der Leyen and prime minister Giorgia Meloni,” he said, mentioning a “turning point on migration issues thanks to the Italian government”.

“Nonetheless, the choices that have been made in recent days, the political platform, and the search for a consensus on the left extended to the greens, does not make it possible to support her reconfirmation,” he added.

“Today we voted against but on the other hand, as we have had the opportunity to say, we remain what we are: moderate in tone but firm in principles. For us to vote for von der Leyen would have been like voting against some of our principles,” said ECR group leader Nicola Procaccini.

"This is a very emotional and special moment for me," Ursula von der Leyen told reporters after being re-elected European Commission President.

"I cannot begin expressing how much I am grateful for the trust of the majority of the European Parliament," she said. "It sends a strong message of recognition of the work we have done together."

Von der Leyen’s manifesto reflects an effort, after extensive rounds of talks in Brussels, to balance the demands of the centrist liberal-left and ecologists without scaring off too many in her own centre-right European People’s Party.

The size of her absolute majority (401 of 707 votes cast) suggests she pulled it off.

The S&D certainly were quick to claim credit for influencing von der Leyen's agenda, with group leader Iratxe García Pérez declaring: “We have made the Commission's Political Guidelines the most social and the greenest ever.”

MEP Michael Bloss said: “As Greens, we have given Ursula von der Leyen a majority because she has clearly committed to a pro-climate and pro-European course. This is a rejection of [EPP group leader] Manfred Weber's right-wing drift and a commitment to Europe.”

Renew Europe said von der Leyen’s new political agenda carried the “hallmark” of its liberal vision. “Liberals and centrists have secured strong wins; for a stronger European defence, on the need for increased competitiveness and the defence of our values,” group president Valérie Hayer said.

“We will be forensic in insisting that the commitments given by Mrs von der Leyen are delivered,” Hayer added.

The EPP congratulated von der Leyen on winning a second term.

Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout tells reporters the Greens played an “essential role” in gaining von der Leyen her majority, and were swayed by her commitments on climate change legislation and the rule of law. 

“I’ve never seen the far-right building something. For building they need us, the four party majority,” he says of the coalition forged with the centre-right, centre-left and liberals.

“Let’s stop a bit with playing the games, and get to work on this programme," he added.

We've just heard the first words of Ursula von der Leyen after her re-election as president of the European Commission.

Von der Leyen didn't give a speech after the results were heard so she took to social media to break her silence.

"5 more years," she wrote, adding: "I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for the trust of all MEPs that voted for me."

Luc Frieden, the Luxembourgish prime minister has tweeted congratulations to von der Leyen, saying her ambition for the next five years makes her the right choice.

@LucFrieden on X

Congratulations dear Ursula @vonderleyen on getting the @Europarl_EN backing for a 2nd term at the helm of the @EU_Commission. Your ambition to deliver more pr…

Leading the sceptics, French MEP Jordan Bardella, from Marine Le Pen's National Rally party, who heads the Parliament's far-right Patriots for Europe group.

He takes aim at MEPs from other right-wing parties, including the Conservatives and Reformists and the French centre-right Republicans party, who he accused of allying with the greens and liberals to secure von der Leyen's reappointment.

The Patriots "will be the only patriotic group resolutely opposed to the Green Deal, the migration pact and the dissolution of our nations," he says.

German leader Olaf Scholz is among those congratulating Ursula von der Leyen for her European Parliament win. A "clear sign" of the EU's ability to act, he says.

Jorge Buxadé, Spanish MEP and spokesperson for far right Vox, reacts to von der Leyen's re-election, telling reporters it's a sad day for Europe, for farmers and for security.

It looks like Germany's von der Leyen will get her second term at the European Commission, after MEPs supported her with a large majority.

Euronews' Jorge Liboreiro has full details of the vote.

Ursula von der Leyen is re-elected European Commission president

The re-election was shrouded in uncertainty and rested on complicated arithmetic among the four centrist parties. #EuropeNews

Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected Commission President, with 401 votes. She needed 360 to secure a majority.

Von der Leyen needs 360 votes in favour to succeed, official European Parliament sources have told Euronews.

She needs an absolute majority of MEPs, but the number of votes to which that corresponds wasn't confirmed until today.

It would be 361 votes needed had all 720 MEPs taken up their seats, but Catalan separatist Antoni Comín hasn't yet done so.

Voting on Ursula von der Leyen's re-election has been closed, says Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament. The boxes carrying the ballots are silently taken away to be counted.

The chamber is now empty as lawmakers go (probably) on lunch break.

The results are expected between 14:30 and 15:00 CET.

Following Ursula von der Leyen's big re-election speech, the main groups have declared their voting intention, signalling growing support for her bid.

The European People's Party (EPP), with 188 seats, is behind von der Leyen, its lead candidate during the campaign. In the past few minutes, the Socialists and Democrats (136 seats), Renew Europe (77 seats) and the Greens (53) have also formally endorsed her.

Altogether, this will give von der Leyen 453 votes, a very large majority in the fractured hemicycle. However, internal rebellions are expected, which means the 453 tally will surely decrease.

Still, as things stand now, it appears von der Leyen might pass the 400 barrier, a much wider-than-expected margin, particularly compared to 2019, when the difference was just nine votes.

Stay tuned for the results.

Members of the European Parliament have begun voting whether to re-nominate von der Leyen to the head of the European Commission.

It's a secret ballot requiring them to mark a cross on a piece of paper, so takes a little longer to count than their usual electronic voting.

The Left grouping has failed in a bid to delay the vote on von der Leyen's candidacy, in view of yesterday's court ruling on secrecy of Covid vaccine documentation.

"We need to give the commission president time to provide those full contracts," the Left's Martin Schirdewan said.

MEPs disagreed and voted 531-101 to press ahead with the vote.

The second biggest grouping in the Parliament, the left-wing Socialists and Democrats, have also given their backing to von der Leyen.

The support is expected but necessary.

The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists have said their members could vote either way on Ursula von der Leyen's re-election - but that the majority of national delegations will vote against.

That's a key swing constituency for von der Leyen to win to gain her needed majority.

The decisive factor would be to know which way Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, which boasts 24 out of the grouping's 78 MEPs, will go.

Euronews’ Vincenzo Genovese intercepted Diana Șoșoacă, the MEP from Romania’s SOS party, after she was ejected from the chamber by chair Roberta Metsola after heckling a speech by a fellow lawmaker.

“My voters asked me to do this ... to do something to stop Ursula [von der Leyen],” she said, of the candidate to become Commission President.

Șoșoacă had worn a mask to protest the measures taken against Covid-19, which she called a “plandemic” - referring to a conspiracy theory that says the health emergency was deliberately organised.

"Why can’t we believe in God in this European Parliament?,” she asked, having brandished an Orthodox Christian icon while interrupting the liberals’ Valérie Hayer. (That supposedly enforced atheism may come as news to both von der Leyen and Metsola, both members of the chamber's large centre-right Christian Democrat grouping).

Șoșoacă said she had entered the lottery for the right to formally address the chamber, but “they refused” to let unaffiliated MEPs speak. (She intervened in the plenary yesterday, during a debate on Ukraine.)

While a Senator in Bucharest, Șoșoacă was sanctioned by Kyiv for attempting to annex territories from southern Ukraine, Euronews Romania has previously reported.

The Parliament's Green grouping of 53 MEPs have said they'll back von der Leyen.

That's more good news for the incumbent Commission President's re-election chances.

A source from the Liberal Renew party confirmed to Euronews that it would back von der Leyen in the secret ballot, but conceded that around 10 of the grouping's 77 MEPs could oppose.

These include Ireland's Fianna Fáil lawmakers, who will vote against von der Leyen over her stance on the war in Gaza.

Germany's pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) are also likely to oppose her re-election bid.

The Greens grouping is currently discussing a 'suggestion' on how to vote on von der Leyen's re-appointment for their MEPs, Euronews' Gerardo Fortuna has been told by a source familiar. Gerardo reports that it is not clear whether the group will put this recommendation to the vote. That is not the Greens' style, party sources said, though they haven't ruled it out.

The party has briefed that any recommendation would be to vote for von der Leyen, according to sources in the Parliament

In the last few days, several Greens MEPs claimed the group demonstrated a proven track record of party discipline in the last mandate, meaning that they expect most of the group's MEPs would follow any such suggested steer on how to vote.

There was no shortage of promises in Ursula von der Leyen's big re-election speech, which ran for almost an hour on Thursday morning and touched on a dizzying variety of topics.

Defence funding, a Commissioner for housing, a Clean Industrial Deal, an inquiry into social media addiction and a revamped EU budget were among the most eye-catching proposals of the day. But there's more.

We break down von der Leyen's pitch for a second mandate.

Von der Leyen stakes re-election on defence, housing, new budget

Incumbent president seeking re-election, Ursula von der Leyen’s has set out her manifesto for the next five years before before the European Parliament. #Europ…

A string of other MEPs has now made interventions - covering topics from climate change, to yesterday's EU court ruling on vaccines, to Sofagate, the mini-scandal in which European Council President Charles Michel declined to offer a seat to his female counterpart von der Leyen.

The European Commission President wound the debate up with a short intervention, addressing MEPs who are "pro-European, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law."

"We may certainly not agree on everything but we should all agree that Europe is stronger when we bridge our differences and join our forces," she told them.

"I gave a long speech. This was a lot," she added, referring to the long list of ideas and projects she proposed. "If you give me your trust, I will be honoured to turn all these actions into reality together with you."

Now members will be having final private huddles about how to vote at 13:00 CET.

Supporting Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as Commission president is “not an easy choice”, Renew Europe lawmaker Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy says.

“You have given us reason to trust you when you heeded the call of millions of Europeans and started acting on the climate crisis, but you have tested our trust when you turned your back on nature,” he said.

Von der Leyen's own centre-right European People's Party group tried hard to block the passage of the Nature Restoration Law through parliament, and she personally withdrew a proposal to slash pesticide use amid rowdy protests by farmers.



“Your guidelines are strong on climate, but again, weak on biodiversity,” Gerbrandy says, demanding to know if von der Leyen will uphold the whole of the Green Deal.

Funny interlude ahead of von der Leyen’s speech, when newly elected Green MEP Virginijus Sinkevičius went to the EU executive's benches in the hemicycle, where he used to sit only a few months ago.

The Lithuanian lawmaker has just resigned as Commissioner for Environment and Fisheries to take up his new parliamentary post and went to greet his former colleagues, who joked with him and wished him success with his career as an MEP.

AP Photographer Jean-Francois Badias caught a picture of protesting Romanian MEP Diana Șoșoacă before she was escorted from the chamber.

Șoșoacă was reprimanded by the chair for interrupting a speech by Renew Europe leader Valérie Hayer.

Șoșoacă's heckle referred to freedom of speech, and she appears to have been waving a religious image.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Overall von der Leyen appeared to give the kind of accomplished performance she sorely needed to clear the way for a second term in office.

Speaking in English, French and German (and even a touch of Italian), she set out a balanced programme with some concessions to some key MEP constituencies.

It included sweeties on housing policy, a topic beloved of the centre-left, and to Mediterranean countries. On controversial environmental laws, she rebranded the Green Deal and set out some tweaks without disowning it outright.

Furious opposition from the Parliament's extremes is expected, but may even do her some favours among centrists.

All in all it was well-handled by the incumbent Commission President. But last time round the result was extremely tight, and we'll be waiting for the final tally today to see if she's done it again.

(Image: AP Photo)

A short but very sharp intervention from Polish MEP Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik, group leader for the ultra-far right Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group.

She accused von der Leyen, among other things, of having destroyed agriculture, making Europeans poorer and poorer, and being responsible for “every rape [and] vile attacks done by illegal migrants".

“You should go to prison and not to the European Commission,” she concluded, adding that re-appointing her would lead to a further collapse of the EU.

Greens co-president Terry Reintke has warned “we cannot backtrack on the Green Deal” with Europe battered in turn by drought and floods, destroying livelihoods.

The German lawmaker said Europe needs a new “Climate Adaptation Law” to increase resilience and protect critical water supplies. Massive investment in greening industry is not incompatible with competitiveness, she said.

Reintke also called for Common Agricultural Policy reform – thousands of farmers cannot make a decent living and they “deserve better”.

Social inequality must be tackled amid a cost of living crisis: history has shown that rising social inequality is a “threat to democracy”, she said.

She called to reform EU foreign, defence and security policy which was “too fragmented”. A barb aimed at Hungarian premier Viktor Orban, whom she described as “Putin’s servant right now in the Council presidency”.

The requirement for unanimity in EU council votes must be ended, she added. "Let's take away the veto," she said.

Robert Abela has said that Malta - the smallest EU member state - first proposed the Commissioner for the Mediterranean announced by von der Leyen in her political guidelines this morning.

The southern region of Europe is considered the most vulnerable to rapid climate change, drought, as well as increased migratory flows, meaning it faces unique challenges.

"The Mediterranean region should get undivided attention," von der Leyen said this morning. "This is why I will appoint a Commissioner for the region, and propose a new Agenda for the Mediterranean together with Kaja Kallas. Because the future of the two Mediterranean shores is one and the same."

The Left's Manon Aubry gives a fiery speech in which she berates von der Leyen for focusing on competitiveness rather than poverty or unemployment.

"Come out of your ivory tower and confront reality," says Aubry, from the France Unbowed party, contrasting von der Leyen's salary of €30,000 per month with the millions of Europeans forced to skip meals.

Aubry welcomes the announcement of a housing commissioner, but says von der Leyen's migration policy has created a "Europe of barbed wire".

She over-runs her allotted time and is repeatedly urged to finish by Metsola.

Valérie Hayer, of Emmanuel Macron's centrist liberal Renew coalition, commits that her group will be a "demanding but reliable" partner for von der Leyen.

Hayer cites defence, Ukraine, and freedom in a speech that is briefly interrupted by heckler Diana Șoșoacă, and urges no U-Turns on EU environmental policy.

"Don't reverse the Green Deal," she says.

“I want to disappoint those who expect an indication of voting from the ECR,” said the conservative group leader Nicola Procaccini. He added that his grouping is made of parties that “do not give up their national prerogatives” and, as a consequence, delegations “will vote on the basis of their national interest.”

“We have nothing personal against you, but something is going wrong here,” he said referring to the fact von der Leyen might be re-appointed thanks to votes from EU election ‘losers’ such as the Greens.

However he gave a clear opening for cooperation with von der Leyen, who was, according to Procaccini, “forced to chase the demands of the left, hostage to a left-wing majority” in her previous mandate.

“Today, thanks to the election result, our citizens have embraced the common-sense ideas of the centre-right in the majority. I think you should take this into account,” he concluded.

After heckling during the speech of Renew Europe leader Valérie Hayer, Romanian MEP Diana Șoșoacă was ordered to abandon the chamber.

"This is the third time that you've done this, I ask that the member is taken out of the room," the parliament President Roberta Metsola said. "Let me repeat, I ask that the member is taken out of the room now."

She was then reprimanded by the President for shouting at the ushers attempting to remove her.

"Don't shout at the ushers. How many people, how many colleagues need to come to escort you out of the room?" Metsola said, adding: "I think you've spoken enough."

Șoșoacă hails from Romania's SOS party, which is not affiliated to any of the parliament's groups.

Speaking third is Jordan Bardella, of France's National Rally.

Again, no surprises that the far-right Patriots for Europe group is opposing her bid - indeed, any suggestion that she had been courting their votes might prove unpalatable to her core coalition.

Bardella says he's opposed to "punitive ecology" and mass migration, saying that voting von der Leyen would be to ignore EU election results that "strengthened patriotic forces" committed to tradition and identity.

Socialists and Democrats leader Iratxe García told the chamber: "We will be a firm bulwark to the extreme right across the European Union."

"Our support for your presidency will be conditional on the need to offer a project of Europe that ends inequality and guarantees equality of opportunities," she added.

"You know, you should know, which is the right side of history. Stand up to the reactionary forces that defend an unsustainable environmental agenda, that undermine women and the LGBTI community, that dehumanise migrants and refugees."

The Socialist leader also called for a peace conference that would lead to the recognition of the Palestinian state.

Responses from MEPs start with Manfred Weber, who gives strong backing to von der Leyen.

No surprises, given that he represents her own centre-right European People's Party.

"If you want to defend democracy, vote today for Ursula von der Leyen," says Weber, citing her support for Ukraine, support for small business, and the ideal of gender equality.

Von der Leyen finishes with the words "Long live Europe."

By our count she spoke for the best part of 50 minutes, and received over 30 seconds of applause at the end, interrupted by an impatient chair Roberta Metsola.

The EU executive will present a vision for agriculture and food in its first 100 days, von der Leyen announced. This document will be based on the ongoing strategic dialogue for agriculture, launched by the Commission chief in January in a bid to reduce the polarisation in the sector. “I promised to listen carefully [to the strategic dialogue outcomes] and take on board good recommendations,” she added.

Von der Leyen also announced a new focus on strengthening the position of farmers in the food chain, by revising the framework for Unfair Trade Practices (UTPs). "Nobody should be forced to sell high-quality foodstuff at below production cost," she said.

She also promised a focus on tackling problems farmers face such as access to more capital, as well as ensuring they have a fair and sufficient income. "Our farmers shape the landscape, they shape Europe and they are part of our culture. They ensure food security and that is why we are so proud of them," she concluded.

Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to ensure the rule of law and fundamental rights are strictly tied to the reception of EU funds. During her first mandate, her team froze recovery and cohesion funds allocated to Hungary and Poland due to their democratic backsliding.

"We will ensure the rule-of-law reports focus on a single market dimension to protect companies," von der Leyen said.

"Respecting the rule of law is a must for EU funds - in this budget and the future."

"We see more and more reporting on what some call a mental health crisis," von der Leyen said, referring to the challenges facing Europe's young people. "And I believe that social media and excessive screen time and addictive practices have played their part."

"My heart bleeds when I hear of young people harming themselves or even taking their lives because of online abuse."

"We will tackle the plague of cyber-bullying, we will take action against the addictive design of some platforms and we will convene the first European-wide enquiry on the impact of social media on the wellbeing of young people. We owe it to them and we will not rest until we have done right to them."

During von der Leyen's term, the bloc has broken new ground with the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts to hold Big Tech accountable for the addictive design of their platforms and its impact on Europe's youth.

"We will enshrine our 90% target for 2040 in our European Climate Law," von der leyen says, referring to a minimum target recommended by EU scientists and already endorsed by her Commission.

Companies need to start planning their investments for the coming decade, and this will provide regulatory certainty, she says.

But it’s also for the kids, she says, since for children and teenagers, 2030, 2040 and 2050 are “just around the corner”.

"They know that we have to reconcile climate protection and a prosperous economy,” von der Leyen says.

Von der Leyen says she'll appoint a commissioner "with direct responsibility for the topic of housing" - a key demand of MEPs on the left, as prices become increasingly unaffordable.

It looks like that will be part of the portfolio of one of her 26 lieutenants, rather than a brief all by itself - but for some it will be controversial that Brussels is getting involved at all, in an area normally reserved for individual countries or regions.

The EU should "support people where it matters," von der Leyen says. "If it matters to Europeans then it matters to Europe."

"I want to be very clear - the bloodshed in Gaza must stop now," von der Leyen said, receiving applause from the chamber.

"Too many children, women and civilians have lost their lives as a result of Israel's response to Hamas' brutal terror."

"The people of Gaza cannot bear any more and humanity cannot bear any more," she added.

Von der Leyen has been fiercely criticised in the past for what was seen as a strong pro-Israeli stance, given her reluctance to call for restraint in the Gaza offensive.

Some lawmakers from the centrist Renew Europe group have indicated they will vote aganst her given her stance on the conflict engulfing the Gaza Strip.

A new European "Competitiveness Fund" will target cross-border projects and support the Clean Industrial Deal von der Leyen has pledged to unveil in her first 100 days if re-appointed president.

It will ensure strategic technologies are manufactured domestically, whether "AI or clean tech"

"The future of our prosperity must be made in Europe, that is clear," she said.

Multilingual von der Leyen switches to French to talk about the prospects for a European Defence Union.

That's not been a major part of the EU's work so far, and she says she remains committed to NATO - so the focus is on building the single market for the military industry, and funding common European projects.

She says she wants a European air shield, echoing a pledge she made during her election campaign as candidate for the centre-right European People's Party.

Ursula von der Leyen has excoriated Viktor Orbán's so-called "peace mission" which recently took him to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine.

"This so-called peace mission," von der Leyen said, "was nothing but an appeasement mission! This was a plain appeasement mission!"

The statement prompted loud applause from MEPs, who had previously condemned Orbán's rebellious diplomacy.

"Only two days later Putin's jets aimed their missiles at a children's hospital and maternity ward in Kyiv," von der Leyen went on. "That strike was not a mistake. It was a message. A chilling message to all of us."

"Our answer has to be just as clear: no one wants peace more than the people of Ukraine, a just and lasting peace, for a free and independent country," she added. "And Europe will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes, this is our message."

Von der Leyen is now rattling off a list of policy pledges as part of a her bid for a second term in office.

That includes commitments on reducing administrative burdens, and a Clean Industrial Deal - an apparent rebrand of her existing, though controversial, Green Deal of climate change measures - to which she's given an extra geopolitical slant.

"We want ensure that the era of dependency from Russian fossil fuels is over once and for all," she says, speaking of "blackmail" from Vladimir Putin.

Plus she promises a savings and investment union - a rejig of previous commitments to bolster EU capital markets - and reforms to competition policy.

There'll be a new European competitiveness fund for common, cross border European projects, she says.

Ursula von der Leyen refers to "demagogues and extremists" and the "extreme polarisation" of society as among the internal and external threats the EU faces.

She also stresses that she's been talking to the "democratic forces" in the Parliament as she assembles her manifesto.

The last EU elections saw a swing to the right, but any suggestion that she's courting the votes of extremists risks frightening off her core centrist coalition.

Von der Leyen has now taken the podium. She begins by praising Parliament President Roberta Metsola for the "outstanding work you’ve been doing in the house of democracy."

Then proceeds to some of the more poignant moments of the last five years - commemorating those who died in the pandemic, Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, and Metsola's late predecessor David Sassoli.

Five years ago, Ursula von der Leyen made the same trip she's making today to attend the plenary session in Strasbourg and seek confirmation from MEPs. Back then, she was known for being Defence Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel's government and had no proven credentials on the European stage.

Her surprise nomination by EU leaders infuriated the Parliament, who saw it as a violation of the Spitzenkandidaten system, under which each party puts forward a lead candidate for Commission president. The EPP's then-pick, Manfred Weber, was summarily dismissed by Emmanuel Macron.

Von der Leyen's 2019 confirmation came down to the wire: in the end, she received 383 votes in favour, 327 against and 22 abstentions. This was a record, razor-thin margin of just nine votes to achieve the necessary 374-strong majority. Photographers who were inside the hemicycle captured her sense of relief.

How many will she get this time?

A whole new set of portfolios in the EU executive has been announced in Ursula von der Leyen's political guidelines, including a Commissioner for Housing tasked with putting forward the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan, particularly sought after by the socialists.

Von der Leyen also confirmed she will appoint a Commissioner for Defence who will work in close contact with the EU's High Representative candidate Kaja Kallas - if she is confirmed by MEPs.

The Commissioner for Youth's name will change to Commissioner for intergenerational fairness, while a new Commissioner for Equality will be tasked with an updated strategy on LGBTIQ and another on anti-racism.

There is a surprising decision to install a Commissioner for the Mediterranean, a clear sign of appeasement toward Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni. This member of the College will also develop a new Pact for the Mediterranean "to provide a clear political signal of partnership in a more contested and unstable world".

Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in the Strasbourg chamber ahead of her key pitch to MEPs.

Business hasn't started yet, so she's mingling with the crowd, flanked by her team of Commissioners.

Von der Leyen's manifesto shows the delicate balance she needs to strike to win support from at least half of MEPs today.

Some worry the EU is losing competitiveness at the altar of environmental policies. But move too far to the right or towards farming interests, and she might lose key support from Greens or socialists.

Von der Leyen now says she's sticking to the goals of her original green plans, but will set out some tweaks in a package now rebranded as the "Clean Industrial Deal".

On the sensitive topic of migration, dear to many on the right, she says she'll implement a recently agreed existing pact, but there will be some more rules on returning irregular migrants - ensuring deportations or other methods are dignified and digitalised.

On housing - a major issue for the socialists and many Europeans facing rocketing rents - she says it'll be part of one of her Commissioner's briefs, and that she will further a European Affordable Housing Plan.

Plus she says a new EU budget framework will be simpler and more focused - with safeguards to ensure the likes of Hungary can't continue to gain EU funds while flouting the rule of law.

Ursula von der Leyen has just published her political guidelines - a manifesto for her second term in office to persuade wavering MEPs whose votes she needs this afternoon.

"This will be an investment Commission," she promises, pledging to work to generate returns from private capital, as well as public sources like the European Investment Bank, and a new Competitiveness Fund from the EU Budget.

She pledges to "stay the course" with the goals of the European Green Deal -- but promises to look again at the role of e-fuels in a controversial phase-out of petrol and diesel cars scheduled for 2035.

She promises a "new approach to competition policy", where corporate mergers assess "innovation and resilience". That will be keenly watched given the Commission has strong powers in this area - and some complained that recent merger blocks stop the formation of European champion companies.

She also promises a white paper on the future of European defence in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, and some eye-catching regulation to make it easier to book cross-border train travel - something many have claimed is an obstacle within the EU's single market.

Two motions to postpone the vote on Ursula von der Leyen's presidency were filed last night - one from non-attached leftist Germany's Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and another from The Left group in the European Parliament.

These motions followed The European Court of Justice (ECJ) annulment yesterday (17 July) of a von der Leyen’s Commission’s decision to conceal certain parts of COVID vaccine contracts.  

Unlikely though they are to pass, these might embarrass the Greens nonetheless, as Gerardo Fortuna explains...

Leftists’ last-minute call for von der Leyen vote postponement

Two motions to postpone the vote on Ursula von der Leyen’s presidency were filed last night - one from non-attached leftist Germany’s Sahra Wagenknecht Allianc…

Welcome back!

In 2019, Ursula von der Leyen secured the top job in Brussels by the skin of her teeth, when she was appointed to the Commission presidency by a margin of just nine votes in the European Parliament, the narrowest on record.

Five years on, the 65-year-old German is bidding for a second term – and there's an ominous sense of déjà vu in the corridors of Strasbourg, where our correspondent Mared Gwyn Jones has gauged the temperature ahead of today's crucial vote. Read Mared's article below.

Von der Leyen’s future faces crunch vote in the European Parliament

The president of the European Commission needs an absolute majority of lawmakers to back her bid for a second term. #EuropeNews

That's all for today from the blog team! We'll pick up early tomorrow for the main event of this plenary session - it's crunch time for Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks confirmation from the assembly on her reappointment...

While awaiting tomorrow’s crucial vote on Ursula von der Leyen, parliamentary work has started regularly, with the first conference of presidents—gathering all the group leaders and Parliament Chief Roberta Metsola—just concluded, Gerardo Fortuna reports from Strasbourg.

The Parliament’s top body has decided to postpone once again the decision on whether to grant full legislative powers to the defence and health sub-committees. Both the public health (SANT) and security and defence (SEDE) sub-committees are offshoots of other parent committees, respectively environment (ENVI) and foreign affairs (AFET), which ultimately vote on regulations or directives.

With new European institutional planning in preparation, the Parliament's largest political group, the European People’s Party (EPP), has proposed creating a committee dedicated to health, distinct from ENVI.

Likewise, with a war raging on Europe's borders and the bloc lacking much-needed defence capabilities, both the EPP and the liberal group Renew Europe have put pressure on other groups to give security and defence issues greater focus in the coming years. However, the Left has clearly opposed the idea, and the S&D group has said it is open to discussing it under certain conditions that have not yet been met.

The upgrade to full-fledged committees would mean that their MEPs would finally have their own legislative activities. The decision will be a matter of discussion at the next meeting in September, one parliamentary source told Euronews at the end of the meeting. Another source added that, although previously rumoured, the issue was not on today’s agenda. 

Today's pro-Ukraine resolution received 137 votes against, mainly from far-right MEPs (Patriots for Europe and the Europe of Sovereign Nations). However, there were other lawmakers, including the Italian Greens, who also rejected the text.

Our team of reporters has a breakdown of the vote.

Far-right MEPs vote en masse against pro-Ukraine resolution

The statement, the first substantive business of the new European Parliament, received 495 votes in favour and 137 against. #EuropeNews

Ursula von der Leyen will make a pitch to MEPs tomorrow before facing a key vote on her candidacy for the European Commission – and Euronews has made some educated guesses about what might be in it.

She'll likely set out successes from her first term, ambitions for the next, and policies that could win her support from a broad coalition of lawmakers.

That might include pledges to key constituencies like agriculture or small business, or about the Green Deal, the landmark environmental laws from her first term which includes a divisive phase-out of petrol and diesel cars.

But she’ll probably try and zoom out from individual economic problems and focus on what brings her and many MEPs together: European values like freedom, and common threats like the belligerent Russia; and all in a mix of the languages she speaks fluently.

Plus maybe she'll namecheck a few personalities likely to resonate in the chamber. That may include David Sassoli, who was in the chair when she was first elected in 2019 and who died in office in 2022.

One of the more unusual faces among the crop of new MEPs is YouTube influencer Fidias - whose 2.6 million subscribers watched him hitchhike from Brussels to Strasbourg for the first plenary session.

Will he succeed in making politics cool? Euronews' Sertac Aktan reports.

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/07/17/cypriot-youtuber-turned-mep-pledges-to-vote-according-to-his-followers-opinions

As you know, the big vote of the first plenary session will be on the reappointment of Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

To secure a second term, von der Leyen needs an absolute majority in the European Parliament: more than half of the chamber must vote for her, and so an MEP not voting effectively counts as a vote against. Strictly speaking, this means she needs 361 endorsements (half of the 720-strong chamber plus one).

However, there's an issue: one MEP, Antoni Comín, hasn't taken up his seat because he's currently in self-imposed exile in Belgium to evade his judicial troubles in Spain. This has left the Parliament with 719 MEPs.

But there's more: some MEPs - around eight, as of yesterday morning - haven't yet signed a declaration stating the absence of conflict of interests and, as a result, cannot exercise their right to vote. Only 701 of them voted for the Parliament's vice-presidents yesterday, for example.

The mystery surrounding the absolute majority is bubbling up in anticipation of von der Leyen's make-or-break moment and won't be solved until President Roberta Metsola announces the final number on Thursday morning. Any bet?

MEPs voted on Wednesday on the list and size of parliamentary committees for the new mandate. Committees play an important role in the work of the EP, preparing much of the work of the plenary session according to different policy areas.

The EU institution will have 20 full committees and four subcommittees with between 30 and 90 members.

The biggest will cover major topics like the environment, energy and civil liberties - and there's been a few alterations since last time round, with changes shown in brackets. Have a look:

• AFET [Foreign Affairs] - 79
• DEVE [Development] - 25 (-1)
• INTA [International Trade] - 43
• BUDG [Budgets] - 40 (+1)
• CONT [Budgetary Control] - 30
• ECON [Economic and Monetary Affairs] - 60 (-1)
• EMPL [Employment and Social Affairs] - 60 (+5)
• ENVI [Environment, Public Health and Food Safety] - 90 (+2)
• ITRE [Industry, Research and Energy] - 90 (+12)
• IMCO [Internal Market and Consumer Protection] - 52 (+7)
• TRAN [Transport and Tourism] - 46 (-3)
• REGI [Regional Development] - 41 (-2)
• AGRI [Agriculture and Rural Development] - 49 (+1)
• PECH [Fisheries] - 27 (-1)
• CULT [Culture and Education] - 30 (+1)
• JURI [Legal Affairs] - 25
• LIBE [Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs] - 75 (+6)
• AFCO [Constitutional Affairs] - 30 (+2)
• FEMM [Women’s Rights and Gender Equality] - 40 (+3)
• PETI [Petitions] - 35
• DROI [Human Rights (Subcommittee)] - 30
• SEDE [Security and Defence (Subcommittee)] - 30
• FISC [Tax Matters (Subcommittee)] - 30
• SANT [Public Health (Subcommittee)] - 30

The full list of MEPs appointed to each committee will be announced on Friday, but you can check out what we have already got for you here.

Andrius Kubilius, the former Lithuanian prime minister who sits with the centre-right group of the European People's Party (EPP), told Euronews that Orbán was not only violating EU treaties by visiting Moscow days after his government took over the EU Council presidency, but also operating "like an agent of Mr Putin."

"From a political point of view, I think this is a big mistake of Mr Orbán's," Kubilius told Euronews. "He is showing that not only is he not following EU goals and rules, but also acting like an agent of Mr Putin."

"These issues will be raised in a legal way," he also vowed.

Kubilius is one of 63 EU lawmakers who have addressed a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling on her executive to strip Hungary of its voting rights in response to Orbán's self-proclaimed 'peace mission', which took him to Moscow, Beijing and Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

Here we go: we have the first (verbal) brawl of the 10th legislature, prompted by a member of Patriots for Europe, the new far-right group in the European Parliament.

Georg Mayer, from Austria's Freedom Party of Austria, lambasted Ilaria Salis, the Italian MEP who spent 15 months in detention and house arrest after being accused of assaulting far-right demonstrators in Hungary. Salis was released after being elected to the Parliament.

But for Mayer, her presence in the hemicycle is a threat. "There is a huge, violent problem in this house," he said, claiming that an MEP who's come "directly from a prison cell" was "quite happy to hit people with hammers".

"The violence is coming from the Left," he went on. "It wasn't just last week in the US, it's also here in Europe, and so I would ask you, for our own security, that this person and her staff be searched every day so that weapons aren't smuggled illegally into this house."

Mayer's request triggered a furious response by Manon Aubry, co-chair of Salis' Left group. "Unfortunately, we didn't have to wait for more than one single plenary session for the far right to show its true face and to attack those who stand up for the defence of human rights," Aubry said.

"I have to say that it's an honour that she sits here, on the Left side of the house, and that she can fight you and your regime - you, the far right - who call into question fundamental rights."

"We're proud that she sits alongside us as a Member of the European Parliament," Aubry concluded, amid applause from her colleagues.

In one of the new parliament's first substantive votes, EU legislators agreed by a landslide to continue their backing for war-torn Ukraine. 

495 of the chamber’s 720 members voted for a resolution underlining the bloc’s unwavering commitment to the country – and taking a swipe at attempts by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to negotiate directly with the aggressor Vladimir Putin. 

137 voted against and 47 abstained. 

The Patriots – the right-wing grouping to which Orbán’s party belongs – had tabled an alternative motion, in part due to scepticism about Ukraine’s EU membership ambitions. 

Though it has no direct legal weight, the level of support for the resolution might suggest the pro-European consensus in the Parliament still holds. 

That could be good news for Ursula von der Leyen, who is hoping to win MEPs’ backing for a second term in office tomorrow, though parts of her centrist coalition took a battering in the recent EU elections.

The Patriots for Europe group, the brainchild of Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán, has tabled an alternative statement of the European Parliament’s support for Ukraine.

MEPs are due to vote shortly after 12:30 on a cross-party motion declaring steadfast support for the embattled country, and condemning Orbán's maverick "peace mission" to Kyiv, Moscow, Beijing and Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

The Patriots’ alternative doesn't refer to Hungarian shuttle diplomacy, but condemns Russia’s "continued aggression against Ukraine" and denounces the "brutal attack" on a children’s ward in Kyiv, which came just days after Orbán met Russia's President Putin.

The Patriots' text expresses "grave concern" over the position of national minorities in Ukraine and calls on Kyiv to "ensure freedom of expression". There is "no military solution to the conflict", and all EU countries are "sovereign regarding … decisions on providing financial, military and diplomatic support" to third countries, it adds.

As we said earlier, the Parliament's first substantive business was on support for Ukraine - but that didn't prevent parties on the fringes from promoting their own hobby horses.

The far-right Patriots group this morning proposed a debate on condemning political violence, citing in particular the recent attempt on the life of Donald Trump.

The bid failed after MEPs voted 337-119 to reject it - but, judging by its social media posts since the vote, the Parliament's new third-biggest political grouping is attempting to gain political capital from its loss.

The vote came after Kinga Gál (Hungary, Patriots) told MEPs that the cordon sanitaire which blocked her party from holding official administrative positions was "shameless" and "disrespectful to 18 million voters ... it will backfire."

On the other side of the chamber, the Left group unsuccessfully attempted to get a declaration on Gaza on the agenda.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, isn't all too pleased with Viktor Orbán's controversial "peace mission."

As my colleague Gerardo Fortuna reported yesterday, the Hungarian premier, fresh from his meetings with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, sent a letter to his peers in the European Council proposing a three-point shift in the bloc's Ukraine policy.

In the letter, Orbán suggests engaging in high-level political talks with China to explore a new peace conference, reopening direct diplomatic communication with Russia and launching a coordinated political offensive toward the Global South to regain its support.

On former President Trump, who's running for election, Orbán says: "I can, however, surely state that shortly after his election victory, he will not wait until his inauguration but will be ready to act as a peace broker immediately. He has detailed and well-founded plans for this."

Now we know what Michel thinks. In a terse response, seen by Euronews, the president tells Orbán: "I cannot accept your claim that we have led a 'pro-war policy.' It is quite the opposite. Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is the victim exercising its legitimate right to self-defence."

"No discussion about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine," he goes on. "The most direct way to peace is for Russia to withdraw all of its forces from Ukraine and respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the UN Charter."

Michel also takes a moment to chide Orbán for exploiting his country's EU Council presidency, which began on 1 July and has already been met with a boycott. "The rotating Presidency of the Council has no role in representing the Union on the international stage and received no European Council mandate to engage on behalf of the Union. I made this clear even prior to your visit to Moscow."

With impeccable timing, the EU's General Court has ruled against Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission in a case brought by Green MEPs.

Judges said the Commission should have published fuller details of contracts signed with COVID-19 vaccine providers, reigniting a slow-burning issue that has plagued von der Leyen's first term in office.

Swift vaccine roll-out was seen as a major triumph for the executive - but there have also been questions raised about von der Leyen's role, including her secretive messages exchanged with the head of pharma company Pfizer, which is part of a separate legal case.

Von der Leyen desperately needs MEPs to come on side to secure her second term in office. The question will be whether wavering lawmakers are swayed by the issue of transparency, or by the grenade being lobbed from the court in Luxembourg.

Our colleague Marta Iraola Iribarren has the full story.

Von der Leyen Commission loses Covid vaccine transparency case

Von der Leyen’s Commission has lost a controversial vaccines contracts transparency case on the eve of a crucial vote in the European Parliament to confirm her…

The European Parliament began its substantive business with a fiery debate to re-pledge the chamber’s commitment to aid Ukraine. 

We've just seen a sequence of statements in support of the war-torn country, and jabs at Viktor Orbán – the Hungarian leader who made controversial visits to Moscow and Beijing, and who recently formed a far-right grouping of MEPs known as Patriots for Europe.

“The Ukrainian people will win the war,” even if it takes years, said socialist leader Iratxe García Pérez. “The Ukrainian people have chosen democracy.” 

Poland’s Andrzej Halicki said the resolution – seen by Euronews yesterday – is backed by five major political groups, including his own European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists, Liberals, Greens and the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

“Anyone who helps Ukraine helps themselves,” said Halicki. “Nobody has the right to call themselves a Patriot if they undermine this joint effort on our part and limit the help that we seek to give.” 

That could spell good news for Ursula von der Leyen – who's hoping a pro-European and pro-Ukranian coalition will support her tomorrow in her bid to renew her term as European Commission President. 

But the acclaim wasn't unanimous. Jordan Bardella, of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, condemned Russian “imperialism,” but said he couldn't back commitments for France to spend billions on aid, nor for Ukraine to join NATO or the EU, which he said would upend the bloc’s agricultural subsidy programme, known as CAP. 

René Aust of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gave explicit support to Orbán’s strategy of negotiating with Putin to secure a ceasefire. “All Europe is yearning for peace,” Aust said. “We need to modify our strategy ... and exert pressure to ensure that we start peace talks.” 

The Left group, which is also not backing the resolution, criticises the failure of the EU to stop military goods from reaching Russia. “Why are there no effective sanctions on the corrupt Russian oligarchs and the military industrial complex?” said Germany’s Martin Schirdewan. “Corporations ... don’t want to lose business.” 

Welcome back to our live coverage!

Today the Parliament has Ukraine on the agenda as the newly-elected chamber seeks to double down on its unwavering commitment to backing Ukraine in a sharply-worded resolution which will be put to the vote this evening.

How will the now reinforced far-right groups react?

The resolution also seeks to censure Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s controversial visits to Moscow and Beijing, against the backdrop of the EU executive vowing to boycott Hungary's six-month presidency of the EU Council.

Orbán’s move is described as a “blatant violation of the EU's treaties and the EU common foreign policy,” in a draft of the resolution seen by Euronews yesterday, with lawmakers saying Hungary should face “consequences.”

For more details on today's resolution, check out the story by Mared Gwyn Jones and Eleonora Vasques below.

Exclusive: MEPs to reassert support for Ukraine, slam Orbán’s trips

Members sceptical of the bloc’s aid to Kyiv are more numerous and more organised than in the previous mandate. #EuropeNews

We'll be back tomorrow for live coverage from the plenary, with MEPs set to debate a resolution reasserting the parliament's firm backing of Ukraine from 09.00.

It's also the eve of the crunch vote on Ursula von der Leyen's future, and the last hours for any last-ditch attempts to convince undecided lawmakers.

Far-right candidates bidding to become vice-president of the European Parliament were voted down on Tuesday as part of centrist parties’ coordinated efforts to build a firewall against the radical right-wing.

While the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did manage to secure two vice-presidents - one more than in the previous mandate - the two newly-formed radical right-wing groupings were blocked.

It means neither Patriots for Europe, led by the French National Rally's Jordan Bardella, or the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) of Alternative for Germany (AfD) will be represented in the European Parliament's bureau, which shapes the parliament's rules and budget.

"I didn't decide that the Patriots group is the third largest group in the European Parliament, but the voters decided it," Paolo Borchia, a Patriots MEP hailing from Italy's League, told Euronews. "Therefore the fact of going against the will of the Europeans, a will democratically expressed by millions of European voters, represents a huge assumption of responsibility, as well as a lack of respect."

Far-right forces cordoned off from power roles in European Parliament

The two new far-right groups failed to clinch any of the fourteen vice-president positions. #EuropeNews

The three final vice-president positions have been filled after a second round of voting, and they are:

Roberts Zīle (Latvia, ECR) - 490 votes

Antonella Sberna (Italy, ECR) - 314 votes

Younous Omarjee (France, the Left) - 311 votes

It means the firewall centrist parties had vowed to build to block the two new far-right groups - Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations - from assuming influential positions in the parliament has survived its first test.

There were six candidates for Parliament Vice-President who weren't immediately successful.

They must now go to a second round of voting to compete for the three remaining seats, which is taking place now.

Let's take a look at how many votes each of them scored in the first round:

Antonella Sberna (Italy, ECR): 323 

Roberts Zīle (Latvia, ECR): 306 

Younous Omarjee (France, Left): 272 

Klára Dostálová (Czechia, Patriots): 214

Fabrice Leggeri (France, Patriots): 209

Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik (Poland, ESN): 102.

If those popularity levels follow through to the second round, it looks like the cordon sanitaire - under which those from far-right groups such as the Patriots and Sovereign Nations are excluded from official positions - will hold.

The European Parliament has elected 11 out of its 14 Vice-Presidents in a first round of voting.

The successful candidates, with the votes received, are Sabine Verheyen (604), Ewa Kopacz (572), Esteban González Pons (478), Katerina Barley (450), Pina Picierno (405), Victor Negrescu (394), Martin Hojsík (393), Christel Schaldemose (378), Javi López (377), Sophie Wilmès (371) and Nicolae Ștefănuță (347).

There were 36 blank or void ballots, making an absolute majority 333.

The other six candidates will have to go through to a second round of voting.

Now that we know that Roberta Metsola will continue to lead the European Parliament and MEPs are voting on the vice-presidents of the chamber, the next decision is on the composition of its standing committees and subcommittees.

How will the different political groups allocate the chairmanships of the committees? While the official decision will be made next week, we have collected some of the names that are already emerging as clear frontrunners for the jobs, and others that are being rumoured in the corridors of the Parliament. 

The two biggest committees this term with 90 MEPs each will be:

🌲 ENVI will be chaired by Camilla Laureti from S&D

🔋 ITRE for which Borys Budka would be the Polish pick to chair this committee for EPP

And with 25 MEPs, the the two smallest committees are:

🎣 PECH, still an empty spot for national EPP delegations to claim.

📚 JURI, for which Liberal Pascal Canfin is tipped as possible lead.

Who will chair which committee in the European Parliament?

Now that the political groups in the European Parliament have chosen the policy areas they are most interested in leading, the national parties are putting for…

Fresh from her re-election, Roberta Metsola doubled down on a key demand to hand her institution new powers.

"I want this Parliament to be leading the policies and the agenda for Europe in the coming years, to be the legislative and political powerhouse that people want us to be," she said in a press conference. "To do this, we have to keep pushing for the right of initiative."

She wants lawmakers to have the power, not just to amend legislation, but to propose it, a right that's today bestowed solely on the European Commission.

In the EU system, unlike many national parliaments, the independent executive puts forward a draft, then it's up to the Parliament (with 720 MEPs) and the Council (with 27 member states) to negotiate the text until they agree.

The European Parliament's request for the new power has been met with deafening silence for years.

Metsola vowed to correct the "imbalances" between institutions and called on member states to show their commitment to reform. "We expect there to be a serious discussion on how to implement this," Metsola said. "It would require treaty change but we also need institutional commitment."

The decision to confirm Ursula von der Leyen for a second term at the European Commission will be held by secret ballot.

The details of how MEPs vote are normally made public - so why is this case different?

Simon Hix, Professor at the European University Institute, sets out some of the background.

Now that MEPs have taken their seats, they'll be sorted into committees - which prepare much of the work of the Parliament plenary session, and are organised into specific policy areas.

The committees will only be formally constituted next week, but Euronews has seen some drafts of where individual MEPs might be heading. Here's a first look, focused on group leaders:

• The chair of the EU liberals group Renew Europe, Valérie Hayer, wishes to join the Agriculture (AGRI) and Budget (BUDG) committees.
• Spanish socialist Iratxe García aims to become a member of the Petitions (PETI) committee and a substitute member of AGRI.
• The Greens' Bas Eickhout has opted for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Economic and Monetary affairs (ECON) committees.
• The hard-right ECR's group chair Nicola Procaccini wants to be part of the Constitutional affairs (AFCO), the Justice and Home affairs (LIBE) and the ENVI committees. 

Newly-elected MEPs are preparing to reaffirm their support for Ukraine, condemn Russian aggression and, most crucially, lambast Viktor Orbán's controversial "peace mission."

Coinciding with the start of Hungary's EU Council presidency, Orbán decided to travel to Moscow and Beijing to discuss possible ways to end the war. The unannounced meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping triggered a furious response from other EU leaders and a formal boycott by the European Commission.

On Wednesday, MEPs are set to join the chorus of disapproval in a resolution set to be put to the vote.

The Parliament "condemns the recent visits of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to the Russian Federation, which did not represent the EU; considers it a blatant violation of the EU's treaties and the EU common foreign policy, including the principle of sincere cooperation; underlines that the Hungarian Prime Minister cannot pretend to represent the EU when violating EU positions," says the draft resolution, seen by Euronews.

Russia's bombing of a children's hospital in Kyiv, which took place in the aftermath of Orbán's visit, shows "the irrelevance of his alleged efforts," MEPs are set to say.

Hungary's diplomacy "should be met with consequences," the document adds.

There are 17 candidates for the 14 posts of Vice-President of the European Parliament - and that may be no accident.

MEPs deemed to be from extremist parties have always been excluded from those senior positions - though there have been some grey areas, such as those from Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy party.

The list of 17 candidates include three names from the far-right that seem likely to be excluded. They are Fabrice Leggeri from Marine Le Pen's National Rally; Czechia's Klára Dostálová, who joins Leggeri in the Patriots for Europe group; and Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik, from Poland's Confederation, which is part of the recently formed Europe of Sovereign Nations formation.

If those three are indeed excluded by the cordon sanitaire, it seems that Meloni's colleague Antonella Sberna and Latvia's Roberts Zīle, both from the right-wing Conservatives and Reformists group, will be among the lucky 14 after all.

Brothers of Italy face cordon sanitaire test at European Parliament

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will find out today if her party’s lawmakers are barred from securing high-level posts in the European Parliament by pro-…

The plenary session has now resumed after a lunch break.

MEPs will now turn to the election of 14 Vice-Presidents - for which there are 17 candidates.

Roberta Metsola, the newly re-elected president of the European Parliament, spent much of her acceptance speech denouncing political polarisation.

"Polarisation in our societies has led to more confrontational politics, even political violence. The easy answers that divide our communities into 'us' and 'them'," she told lawmakers.

"We need to move beyond this zero-sum thinking that has excluded people, that turns people away. That foments anger and hate rather than builds hope and belief. We understand that the comfort of such easy politics offers no real solutions," she said.

The EU Parliament should build rather than destroy, and use its voice for the common good, she added.

The last few months have seen assassination attempts against Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and former US President Donald Trump, an assault on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and the brutal beating of German MEP Matthias Ecke.

Yesterday we heard bombshell news: the European Commission has decided to boycott Hungary's six-month presidency of the EU Council, meaning Commissioners won't attend informal meetings in the country.

The boycott came in response to Viktor Orbán's controversial trips to Moscow and Beijing, visits which prompted accusations of abuse of power and disloyalty.

But the announcement's timing makes us wonder about Ursula von der Leyen's re-election prospects.

For years, the Socialists, Liberals and Greens have complained about von der Leyen's response to Hungary's democratic backsliding, calling for stronger action and a complete freeze of EU funds.

The three parties made the rule of law a key condition for their endorsement.

Will von der Leyen's harder anti-Orbán stance move undecided MEPs in her favour?

European Commission boycotts Hungarian presidency over Orbán’s trips

Speculation about a boycott has been rife in Brussels since Orbán returned from his controversial visits to Moscow and Beijing. #EuropeNews

Only 719 out of 720 MEPs took their official seats in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Catalan separatist Toni Comín watched the entire plenary session from the guest tribune in the hemicycle.  

The seat will be left vacant until Comín travels to Spain to swear an oath to uphold the country's constitution and the national central electoral board confirms his election, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has decided.

Comín has a case against him in the Spanish courts since the Catalan independence referendum in 2017, and has been in self-exile in Belgium since then.

He sat as an MEP alongside Carles Puigdemont since 2019, after being recognised by then-president of the parliament, Italian socialist David Sassoli.

Sassoli's successor, from the centre-right European People's Party, seems to be taking a different approach.

"What President Metsola has done by not recognising me as an MEP ... is an attack on the basic principles of democracy," Comín wrote on X.

It's now crystal clear that the Left, the parliamentary bloc that includes Greece’s Syriza and France Unbowed (LFI), won't be supporting Ursula von der Leyen in her bid for a second term as European Commission president.

“You understand, we won’t be part of a grand coalition and see our rights and our environmental ambition negotiated away in a big mishmash,” co-chair Manon Aubry told reporters in Strasbourg this morning, after the group met von der Leyen on Monday afternoon.

The 46-strong leftist group won't sacrifice its values, goals or voters, Aubry said in a fiery speech, criticising von der Leyen's focus on austerity, "double standards" in the bloc's approach to Ukraine and Gaza, and a lack of attention to poverty, public services and housing.

“It’s really a kind of mad race to be the most xenophobic, the most sexist, who's going to attack women’s rights the most … the rights of migrants … fundamental rights,” she said of the three political groupings to the right of von der Leyen's EPP, which Aubry said needed to be excluded from parliamentary positions.

Malta's Roberta Metsola has taken the podium after her re-election as President of the European Parliament.

"With humility and honour I accept this position," she said, in a speech given in English, Maltese, Italian and French. "Together we are stronger, we are better."

Euronews' Jorge Liboreiro and Mared Gwyn Jones have more details.

Roberta Metsola is re-elected president of the European Parliament

The 720 Members of the European Parliament will be led by Roberta Metsola for the next two years and a half. #EuropeNews

Looks like it was a landslide for Malta's Roberta Metsola in the secret ballot to be European Parliament President.

She got 562 votes, and only needed 312 for an absolute majority of votes cast. (76 ballots were blank or spoiled, said Pina Picierno, the MEP chairing the count).

Montero, Metsola's leftist rival, gained just 61 votes.

"President Metsola, congratulations on your election," Picierno said.

Malta’s Roberta Metsola has once again been elected European Parliament President, in one of the chamber’s first acts since European elections held in June.  

The result was largely expected, given that Metsola was the candidate of the centre-right European People’s Party, which has more MEPs than any other group.  

Metsola will chair sessions and represent the institution externally for two and a half years. More details shortly. 

A new legislature starts today in Strasbourg! 

In its tenth mandate, 54% of MEPs are newly elected and 39% are women, a slight decrease compared to 2019. 

23-year-old Austrian Lena Schilling (Greens/EFA) is the youngest MEP and 77-year-old Italian Leoluca Orlando, from the same grouping, is the oldest - while the average age is 50. Check the full list of MEPs here.

Percentage of female MEPs down for first time in 45 years

Only the Greens/EFA group will have parity, with 50.9% female MEPs within its ranks. #EuropeNews

Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of France's National Rally, is in Strasbourg for the inaugural session of the 10th legislature. Bardella has been nicknamed "Jordan N'est Pas Là" ("Jordan is not here") due to his notorious poor attendance in the chamber, for which critics attacked him during the French election campaign.

Last week, Bardella didn't show up when the National Rally and other like-minded parties created Patriots for Europe, a new far-right group in the Parliament. Bardella's absence, even as he was named the group's president, left people scratching their heads.

This time, though, he has shown up. But will he stay in Strasbourg until the session closes later this week?

Picture: Associated Press.

MEPs have now finished voting for the new President of the European Parliament.

Counting of votes now begins.

Newly elected Brothers of Italy MEP Antonella Sberna is running for the vice-presidency of the European Parliament in a vote to be held this afternoon in Strasbourg —the first time Italy’s main ruling party has ever sought a top parliamentary job.

Today’s vote will provide an answer to the outstanding question of whether the cordon sanitaire applies to Brothers of Italy. If Sberna's bid is successful, that will signal Meloni’s party is allowed to participate in power-sharing; if she does not, that would compromise the party's cooperation with the political families that govern the EU.

Brothers of Italy face cordon sanitaire test at European Parliament

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will find out today if her party’s lawmakers are barred from securing high-level posts in the European Parliament by pro-…

MEPs are now heading to vote for one of the two candidates to be Parliament President.

They do it in the old-fashioned way - putting a cross on a piece of paper in an envelope - rather than the more sophisticated (and fast) electronic way in which they usually vote.

We're expecting results after 11am.

Irene Montero, a member of Spain's Podemos party, is now giving the case for her rival candidacy to be President.

Montero, who sits in the Left, one of the Parliament's smaller groupings, promises to "defend a Europe of peace," end the "genocide against the Palestinian people", and a platform that is feminist, green, and anti-racist.  

"Moderation cannot break the far-right," she says. "They’re rolling out the red carpet for them."

Incumbent Roberta Metsola has made her pitch to continue being President of the European Parliament.

As a woman growing up in Malta, "for me Europe was worth fighting for", she says,  citing values of the rule of law, equality and democracy.

She pays tribute to her predecessor, David Sassoli, who passed away in 2022, and cites the need to strengthen the chamber's legislative powers.

"I will not let you down", she promises lawmakers, to applause.

She is widely tipped to pass the vote, though there is another candidate, Irene Montero.

Speaking to reporters after spending an hour pitching her re-election bid to members of the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, von der Leyen conceded that it was an "intense hour."

The group is split between the so-called "moderate" Conservatives who are likely to lend their votes to von der Leyen, such as the Czech delegation of prime minister Petr Fiala or members of Belgium's New Flemish Alliance, and the hardliners firmly opposed to von der Leyen, including the Polish lawmakers of Law and Justice (PiS).

"Five years ago we supported her, but now we will not," PiS MEP Arkadiusz Mularczyk told reporters, claiming that a majority of members of his ECR group were likely to vote her down.

The Italian lawmakers of Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI) party have still not confirmed whether they will vote in her favour. Meloni has nurtured a close relationship with the Commission President but abstained on her candidature for a second term in the European Council last month.

President Roberta Metsola has formally opened the Strasbourg session, the first since European elections were held in June. MEPs were then regaled with a performance of the European anthem, a version of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony arranged for string quartet.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the opening plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The first item on the agenda of the chamber today will be election of its president for a two-and-a-half year term. Incumbent Roberta Metsola is expected to be voted in swiftly today, but who is she really? Euronews' Mared Gwyn Jones, who is reporting from Strasbourg this week, has written a profile.

Who is Roberta Metsola, the EU Parliament chief eyeing re-election?

Metsola’s re-election bid is expected to draw consensus from across the parliament’s often-fractious political divides. #EuropeNews

Thank you for following our live coverage of the European Parliament's constitutive plenary session. The excitement will continue tomorrow!

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Ursula von der Leyen?

For some, it's the €750 billion pandemic stimulus that broke the long-held taboo against common euro-debt.

For others, it's her trip to Israel, which was heavily criticised as one-sided and took a significant toll on her reputation.

MEPs will weigh those achievements and fiascos as they ponder whether to vote in favour of or against her re-election.

Before her make-or-break vote, expected to go down to the wire on Thursday afternoon, we look back at the 11 moments that defined her presidency.

The 11 moments that defined Ursula von der Leyen’s presidency

She made history when she was elected the first female president of the European Commission. Now she wants a rerun. #EuropeDecoded

A spokesperson for The Left group confirmed that their members were free to vote for or against the re-election bid of European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, conceding that a few members could vote in her favour.

The group is, however, more united in their firm opposition to the re-election bid of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who met the formation earlier this afternoon in Strasbourg to outline her priorities on a range of issues including the cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and migration.

 Among the 720 newly elected MEPs converging on Strasbourg this week are two EU commissioners who formally handed their resignation papers  in today.

Lithuanian Virginijus Sinkevičius – Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, and the youngest ever member of the EU executive – will be continuing his political career with the Greens.

For Romanian Adina Vălean – Commissioner for Transport – joining the ranks of the EPP group will be a return to a position she held continually between 2007 and 2019.

Sinkevičius’s duties will be taken over by Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, who has already added overseeing the EU Green Deal to his portfolio since the departure of Commissioner Frans Timmermans.

Dutchman Wopke Hoekstra, who took on the climate action part of Timmerman’s portfolio will add transport to his job description until the next Commission takes office.

Croatian Dubravka Šuica – Commission Vice-President in charge of Democracy and Demography – though elected an MEP for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) didn’t hand in her resignation, so won’t be taking  up a seat on the EPP benches. Euronews understands she will be the Croatian government’s nominee for Commissioner for the next five years.

Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis – (take a deep breath…) Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People – won’t be stepping down despite being elected to Strasbourg on the ticket of the EPP-affiliated New Unity (JV) Party, opting instead for a third term in the EU executive. Just as for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, his position as head of his party’s list was merely intended to lend some brand recognition.

The European Parliament that will be established on Tuesday morning will have not one but two new far-right groups.

First up is Patriots for Europe, which with 84 MEPs is the third largest formation in the Parliament.

This group initially began as Viktor Orbán's brainchild and quickly expanded to include France's National Rally, Italy's Lega, Spain's Vox and Belgium's Flemish Interest. The parties are united by a strong aversion to migration management, the European Green Deal and political integration. Most oppose military assistance to Ukraine and have advocated Russian-friendly positions, or in some cases still do.

Even further to the right is the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), with 25 MEPs. This group is led by Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party so toxic that Patriots for Europe refused to be associated. Other members are either very small factions or individual lawmakers with extreme ideas.

Both the Patriots and the ESN are set to be put behind a cordon sanitaire and excluded from official positions by mainstream parties.

Mainstream groups in talks to cordon off far right in EU Parliament

A spokesperson for the centre-right EPP group said centrists do not want the institution to be represented by the “friends of Putin.” #EuropeNews

The newly-formed Patriots for Europe group will push for former Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri - who hails from Marine Le Pen's National Rally - to become one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament, a Patriots spokesperson confirmed to Euronews.

The bid is likely to be met by resistance, with the European People's Party (EPP) vowing last week that the Patriots group would be excluded from such leadership roles as part of the parliament's "cordon sanitaire" designed to keep radical right-wing forces at bay.

The exclusion of far-right movements appears part of the EPP's strategy to secure the votes of centrist, mainstream groups for Ursula von der Leyen's bid for a second term as president of the European Commission.

Leggeri has been repeatedly accused by civil society of complicity in illegal pushbacks against migrant boats during his time at the helm of Frontex, the EU's border agency. He announced in February that he was joining the far-right party of Marine Le Pen to run in June's European elections.

Ursula von der Leyen appears not to have convinced the grouping of leftist lawmakers to vote for her, despite repeating her promise not to have any "structural cooperation” with the right-wing ECR grouping.

The pledge was made at a meeting with The Left grouping today, and echoes a one made to the liberals only last week. It's unclear exactly what the commitment means, given that there's no formal need to engage with any party after she gets the nod from the European Parliament.

“As things stand, our orientation is for a negative vote,” said Gaetano Pedullà, the leftist MEP who asked the question to von der Leyen, adding that ECR’s agenda is incompatible with The Left.

Pedullà is from the delegation of Italy’s Five Star Movement which has eight MEPs. Pedullà accused von der Leyen of "the diversion of funds from the Green Deal for weapons” and a “decay in social policies and a lack of European welfare” during her first term.

Von der Leyen is taking every opportunity to gather enough support to be reappointed on Thursday (18 July).  

The German Commission president has just met with the Left group in the European Parliament in Strasbourg - a tough audience, as they have already voiced their opposition to another five years of von der Leyen at the helm of the EU executive.  

The left-wing group believes it is time for a change, stressing that the von der Leyen-led coalition (so far formed by the Parliament's Liberals, Greens and Socialists} has been one of unfulfilled promises.

"We will therefore be voting against this coalition," said French MEP Manon Aubry, one of the two leaders of the Left.  

Kaja Kallas has resigned as Estonia's prime minister to prepare for her upcoming position as the EU's top diplomat, officially known as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

She was nominated for the top job by her fellow EU leaders but must still be confirmed by the European Parliament. So must her potential future boss, Ursula von der Leyen, who needs 361 votes to secure a second mandate at the top of the European Commission.

Von der Leyen's confirmation, scheduled for Thursday, is expected to go down to the wire and could result in either a triumphant re-election or a humiliating defeat for the incumbent.

If the vote fails, leaders might re-open the whole top jobs deal, even re-thinking Kallas' appointment.

Estonia’s PM Kallas steps down to become EU’s foreign policy chief

Kaja Kallas has been at the helm of the Baltic nation for three and a half years and has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

The plenary session is not yet started and it already has its first political intrigue.

A group of 63 MEPs, led by Estonia's Riho Terras, are demanding Hungary be stripped of voting rights in response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's self-proclaimed "peace mission," which included controversial visits to Moscow and Beijing.

The trips coincided with the start of Hungary's rotating presidency of the EU Council under the slogan "Make Europe Great Again".

Budapest insists the meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping were legitimate bilateral diplomacy, but the timing and locations, and the use of the EU presidency's official logo, caused friction.

The presidency "has barely started, and Prime Minister Orbán has already caused significant damage by exploiting and abusing the role," the MEPs wrote in a letter sent to EU chiefs and dated 15 July, as seen by Euronews. "This kind of behavior amounts to usurping the powers and prerogatives of the EU Member States in the field of foreign policy."

Signatories say Orbán's free-wheeling proposal of a "deadline-bound ceasefire" in Ukraine runs counter to the bloc's agreed position. They believe that warrants suspending voting rights - the final, radical step in Hungary's Article 7 process designed to stop democratic backsliding.

"We call on you to take decisive action as soon as possible in order to limit further damage, not only to the credibility of the EU as a whole, but also regarding the current geopolitical situation," the lawmakers say. "Practice has shown that mere verbal condemnations of this situation have no effect."

Good afternoon and welcome to the Euronews live blog, where we will be following the plenary session of the European Parliament, the first of the 10th legislature.

With MEPs still coming to terms with the results of the elections, which kept a centrist majority but shifted the landscape to the right, the agenda is set to focus on leadership. Roberta Metsola and Ursula von der Leyen will be the week's protagonists. But there's more in the pipeline.

Here's an overview of what you can expect before the sitting opens on Tuesday at 10:00 CET.

What to expect from the first plenary session after the EU elections

Roberta Metsola, support for Ukraine and Ursula von der Leyen will be the main topics of the first plenary session since the June elections. #EuropeNews