EU leaders chose new heads of European Commission and Central Bank

(Patria) – Ursula Von der Leyen (60) won the most votes from EU leaders in the race for the new President of the European Commission.

The German Defence Minister was nominated by the European Council, and her appointment needs to be confirmed by the European Parliament with an absolute majority of votes.

A member of Angela Merkel's conservatives (CDU/CSU), Von der Leyen will be the first female President of the Commission.  

Former French Finance Minister and current Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has been nominated for the position of President of the Central Bank.

The current Prime Minister of Belgium, Charles Michel, has been appointed as the new President of the European Council, while the Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell Fontelles has been appointed to the position of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

All appointments need to be ratified by the European Parliament.

Council President Donald Tusk welcomed the appointments for the four key positions in the EU: 'First and foremost, we have chosen two women and two men for the four key positions. Perfect gender balance and I am very happy about that.'

Gender representation and East-West balance criteria were key criteria that leaders like Emmanuel Macron advocated for during the candidate selection process.