Juncker receives von der Leyen with “open arms”
“Delighted to welcome von der Leyen with open arms to the European Commission today. A true European, we are on the same page when it comes to speaking up for interests” wrote incumbent president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in his Twitter micro blog.
Von der Leyen appeared as a “surprise” candidate, after leading candidate Manfred Weber was rejected by the Eastern European member-states. Her candidacy for the Commission president was endorsed by all EU leaders apart from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who abstained because her domestic coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), refused to support her candidacy.
If endorsed by the European Parliament, von der Leyen would become the first woman to ascend the European Union’s top post.
There was a word that Juncker was not impressed by choice of Martin Weber for top job, however he never opposed him publicly.
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