European Union leaders agreed on Thursday on the officials who will be the face of the world’s biggest trading bloc on the global stage in coming years on everything from anti-trust investigations to foreign policy, according to the EU presidency of the Council.
Ursula von der Leyen was approved for a second term as the European Commission president.
Antonio Costa, a former Portuguese socialist prime minister, was nominated to take over as the next European Council president and Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister known for her tough line on Russia, was endorsed as the bloc’s top diplomat to replace Josep Borrell.
The trio was anointed by leaders at a summit in Brussels despite reserves from far-right officials, including Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban.
Both Ms von der Leyen and Ms Kallas should now be approved by MEPs in the European Parliament. Mr Costa’s nomination only needed the leaders’ approval, and he will start in his new role in autumn.
