MEPs from PS and KDH Eventually Supported von der Leyen As EC President

Strasbourg, July 18 (TASR-correspondent) - The European Parliament (EP) decided on Thursday in a secret ballot that Ursula von der Leyen will remain President of the European Commission (EC) for a second term, and the German politician managed to convince Slovak MEPs from both Progressive Slovakia (PS) and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH). While MEPs from Smer-SD, Voice-SD and Republic confirmed to TASR before the election that they will vote against the election of von der Leyen, PS and KDH representatives said that they will wait to see how she'll reflect their demands during her speech in the plenary on Thursday. Von der Leyen was eventually supported for the post of EC president by all six PS MEPs. According to Martin Hojsik, the party succeeded in getting most of their demands onto her agenda. "Compared to last week, when we had a meeting with von der Leyen within the Renew Europe faction, in today's [Thursday's] speech she presented priorities that are perceived as a shift in the right direction, especially in areas that we consider to be important," MEP Lubica Karvasova (PS) told TASR, adding that the demands were related to the protection of the rule of law, media freedom, women's rights, security, support for the regions, and competitiveness and prosperity. KDH MEP Miriam Lexmann said that her party respects the agreed consensus on von der Leyen's re-election, which Slovakia joined at the EU leaders' summit in June. "In today's turbulent and challenging times for EU citizens, the EU needs stability and unity, which is why KDH joined this constructive consensus in the vote. At the same time, however, we've set clear conditions, which have been incorporated into Ursula von der Leyen's programme, and we now expect them to be fulfilled," Lexmann wrote in a statement. The MEP said earlier that the demands, which she had conveyed to the EC chief in a personal meeting, included a review of the internal combustion engine ban, other parts of the European Green Deal, effective management of migration from third countries and food security, including support for farmers. Of the 707 MEPs voting on Thursday, the re-elected EC president received 401 votes, 284 were against, 15 abstained and seven ballots were invalid. Von der Leyen needed 360 votes to be elected. am/mcs