Introduction of Presidents of the Council, Commission, and Foreign Policy of the European Union; Kalas Replaces Borrell

On Friday morning, July 8, the leaders of the European Union agreed to Ursula von der Leyen, a German politician, as the President of the European Commission for another five years. Additionally, Antonio Costa, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, was introduced as the successor to Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, and Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, was introduced as the EU's chief diplomat and successor to Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief. Ms. Kallas is known for her tough stance against Russia. These three will be responsible for decision-making regarding the future of the world's largest trading bloc, which consists of 27 member states. While the appointment of Charles Michel's successor is made by the EU leaders, the selection of the other two, von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas, requires approval from the representatives of the European Parliament. The European Parliament elections, which took place about three weeks ago, witnessed changes, including a shift towards right-wing parties, particularly impacting the ruling parties in France and Germany. However, the three main parties managed to retain most of their seats despite the rise of the far-right party led by Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, which is now the third-largest party in the European Parliament. According to EU treaties, the selection of candidates for key positions must reflect the election results and share these seats among the winning competitors. In their previous meeting earlier this month, the EU leaders could not reach an agreement on the leaders of the key positions of the union. Giorgia Meloni criticized the agreement among the three EU parties, stating that it did not consider the demands of EU citizens who, according to her, want a stronger Europe. Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister of Poland and part of the negotiating team for proposing key positions, stated that the joint position of the three main EU factions was only to facilitate the appointment process for key positions and that sidelining Giorgia Meloni was not the goal. According to the complex power-sharing process in the EU, leaders have the right to introduce the next President of the European Commission, who is responsible for formulating EU policies on all major issues, from climate to the common budget. The role of the President of the European Council also includes representing the EU on the global stage while mediating transactions between EU member states.