Ursula von der Leyen was supported by the European Parliament on Thursday for another term as president of the European Commission.

Von der Leyen was re-elected despite yesterday’s ruling from the European General Court that her Commission had not been sufficiently transparent in the procurement of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, which cast doubt on her support from a sufficient number of MEPs.

The incumbent Commission president received 401 votes in the first round of secret voting at a plenary session of the new European Parliament in Strasbourg. She needed 360 votes from the 719 MEPs who activated their terms. The tenth European Parliament will have 720 MEPs. Today, 707 voted, including 284 against von der Leyen’s re-election.

On her path to a new five-year term, von der Leyen successfully passed the first step at the end of last month when she received the support of the European Council, after which she needed to win the votes of a majority of MEPs.

Von der Leyen was evidently helped by the fact that if she had not been re-elected, it would have created a chaotic situation in EU institutions, alongside the contentious Hungarian presidency.

If she had not received the support of the Parliament, the European Council would have had to nominate a new candidate within a month and a summit of European leaders would have had to be held in the middle of summer. Also, it is not easy to find a new candidate who could gain a qualified majority in the European Council and an absolute majority in the Parliament.

Before the vote, von der Leyen’s speech in the European Parliament largely focused on Europe’s security and competitiveness.

In her programme proposal, she announced a Commission of investment. At the first plenary of the new Parliament, she underlined that European competitiveness needs a big boost, with less bureaucracy and micromanagement to facilitate business operations.

She also announced the continuation of the EU’s green transition towards clean energy sources such as hydrogen, and policies for environmental protection and combating climate change.

Another accent was on European security, calling for the formation of a European defence union. She said European countries invest too little in defence and that their security depends too much on others, referring to the United States.

In her address, she also touched on economic inequality, the epidemic of mental illnesses, and artificial intelligence. She underlined the necessity of achieving genuine equality between women and men, starting with wages and pensions.

After the vote in the European Parliament, the Commission president can begin assembling a new College of Commissioners, which von der Leyen is expected to present in September. She will decide on the new makeup of the Commission and who will get which portfolio in agreement with the governments of the member states.