First woman nominated to

head top EU body

timesofindia.indiatimes.com
1 min read

STRASBOURG: European Union leaders on Tuesday nominated

German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen to become the new
president of the bloc’s powerful executive arm, the European
Commission, one of two women named to top EU posts for the first
time.
Von der Leyen, will seek support in the EU parliament on Wednesday
hoping to secure the confirmation that she will need in two weeks’
time. Von der Leyen, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
is due to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the EC and
France’s Christine Lagarde will head the European Central Bank.
Leaders hope the decision to put two women at the top of EU
decision-making for the first time will send a positive message and
repair damage wrought by such a fractious summit, diplomats said.
The discord echoed a wider fracturing of the EU’s political centre that
was evident in May’s elections to the parliament, which delivered a
more fragmented assembly with bigger farright and far-left
contingents. Von der Leyen needs to be confirmed in her new job by
an absolute majority of the 751 EU lawmakers.
Download The Times of India News App for Latest World News.

S
tart your day smart with stories
curated specially for you