Strasbourg 18.07.2024 The European parliament endorsed Ursula von der Leyen as a head of the European Commission for the second term. After morning debate 401 MEP supported her candidacy by secret ballot.

With 401 votes in favour, the European Parliament approved Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission in a secret ballot on 18 July. This will be Ursula von der Leyen’s second term as Commission President. She was first endorsed by MEPs in July 2019. Parliament is currently composed of 719 MEPs, so the necessary majority was 360 votes. The vote was held by secret paper ballot. 401 MEPs voted in favour, 284 against, and 22 cast blank or invalid votes. Ahead of the vote, Ursula von der Leyen presented her political priorities for the next five years during a debate with MEPs. As the Commission President endorsed for the second term, von der Leyen will send official letters to member states heads inviting them to put forward their candidates for European Commissioner’s jobs. As soon as the candidates are proposed, the Parliament will arrange then nominee hearings in the relevant committees after the summer break. The full college of Commissioners then needs to be endorsed by the Parliament.