EU Commission chief von der Leyen has fallen ill with 'severe pneumonia' and has cancelled all her appointments for the next two weeks, her office has announced.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been diagnosed with "severe pneumonia" and has cancelled her engagements for the first two weeks of January, her office announced on Friday.
"She is dealing with severe pneumonia," a spokesperson said in a statement, though he provided no further details on her condition or the cause of her illness.
Her cancelled engagements include a visit to Lisbon where she was due to make a speech, as well as a trip to Gdansk to mark "the occasion of the launch of the Polish Council Presidency, which will take place at a later stage," the spokesperson said.
The EU Commission president did not attend an event in Warsaw on Friday evening where Poland marked the beginning of its six-month EU Council presidency with an opening gala.
At 66, von der Leyen had only just embarked on her second five-year term at the helm of the EU's powerful executive body.