The European Parliament approved the new composition of the European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen

At its meeting on November 27, the European Parliament approved the new composition of the European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen.

This is stated on the EP website.

370 MEPs voted in favor, 282 against, and 36 abstained. The new European Commission will begin work on December 1.

This will be Ursula von der Leyenʼs second term as President of the European Commission. She announced that the European Commissionʼs first initiative would be a competitiveness compass to bridge Europeʼs innovation gap with the US and China, strengthen security and independence, and ensure decarbonisation.

She also promised to present a clean industry agreement, launch a strategic dialogue on the future of the European car industry, continue work on a competitive circular economy and work towards the creation of a European Savings and Investment Union.

Regarding the ongoing wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and parts of Africa, von der Leyen said that "Europe must play a stronger role in all these regions", stressing that it is "needed more than ever".

Von der Leyen presented all candidates for European commissioners back in September. The former prime minister of Estonia Kaia Kallas became the chief diplomat of the EU. During her premiership, Estonia supported Ukraine in every possible way in the fight against Russiaʼs full-scale aggression and maintained a firm anti-Kremlin position. In particular, from 2022, Estonia provided military aid to Kyiv in the amount of more than €500 million, or about 1.4% of its GDP.

The representative of Slovenia Marta Kos became the commissioner for EU enlargement and will additionally be responsible for the recovery of Ukraine. Previously, the representative of Hungary Oliver Varhelyi was responsible for the expansion, but due to the countryʼs position on Ukraine, they decided to give him another position in the EC — commissioner for health and animal welfare.

• The European Commission is the highest executive body of the European Union, which roughly corresponds to the role and functions of the government in the systems of nation states. Unlike national governments, the European Commission can also act as a legislative initiative.
• The commission consists of 27 members, including the president and vice president. Although each member is appointed by the national government, one from each EU member state, they do not represent their country in the EC. However, in practice, sometimes the national interests of their countries prevail.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.