Tusk, Mitsotakis possible ‘EPP drivers’ of von der Leyen’s EU campaign

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) – Europe’s largest political party – is gearing up to support Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second mandate as European Commission President.

Von der Leyen, a former German defence minister picked by EU leaders in 2019, has not yet announced her intention to be the EPP’s lead candidate. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that it’s only a matter of time.

To do so, she must be nominated by her own political party, the German Christian Democrats (CDU), a stalwart of the EPP family, and endorsed by two more EPP member parties in a letter signed and delivered by the 21 February deadline.

The prevailing assessment in Brussels is that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform party and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party could endorse von der Leyen.

Some suggest that while Poland is a big member state, Tusk – who recently won the Polish elections – is engaged in a dramatic battle to restore the rule of law in his country after a decline during a decade of the nationalist conservative PiS rule.

On the other hand, Greece and Mitsotakis sit on many EPP political capital, as New Democracy and its leader essentially face no serious political opposition at home.

Read more: Big ‘left divorce’ reshuffles political cards in Athens

An EPP source told Euractiv on condition of anonymity that whether or not their parties officially endorse von der Leyen’s candidacy, the fact remains that Tusk and Mitsotakis are the two leaders who both can and are willing to support von der Leyen’s candidacy to the end.

The other “more symbolic” option, according to the EPP source, is to have two smaller parties supporting von der Leyen.

In recent months, there have been press reports and speculation in Athens and Zagreb that Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković were eyeing an EU top job.

Croatian President Zoran Milanović publicly said earlier this month it was no secret that Plenković was “eyeing Charles Michel’s post” of the Council president.

However, both Plenković and Mitsotakis have categorically denied such scenarios.

The 1 February meeting

The EPP has called an informal leaders meeting, which von der Leyen usually attends, for 1 February at the EPP headquarters in Brussels before a special European Council begins.

Euractiv understands that this could be a chance to discuss the roadmap for the upcoming European Parliament elections, which take place on 6-9 June.

The EPP is expected to have at least a dozen leaders at the European Council table after the elections. The EU centre-right believes this is a considerable advantage in negotiating the EU’s top jobs and securing the presidency of the European Commission.

Von der Leyen, for her part, has not announced anything yet despite the growing rumours in Brussels and EU capitals.

Another EPP source from Germany told Euractiv it is likely that von der Leyen will announce her candidacy at a CDU gathering in Berlin on 19 February.

If she does that, the last step will be for von der Leyen’s candidacy to be rubber-stamped at the EPP Congress in Bucharest on 6-7 March.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos – Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic | Euractiv.com)

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