In what many consider a pivotal moment for the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen was reappointed for a second term as the President of the European Commission with 401 votes in favor.

The re-election, held by secret ballot in Strasbourg on July 18, saw a majority of MEPs from the EPP, S&D, Renew, and Greens voting in her favor. This will be von der Leyen’s second term as Commission President, following her initial election in July 2019. With the current Parliament composed of 719 MEPs, the necessary majority was 360 votes.

Despite 284 votes against her re-election and 22 blank or invalid votes, von der Leyen’s re-election reflects the strong influence of Far Right political parties in recent EU elections. Just before the vote, she presented her political priorities for the next five years during a debate with deputies, setting the stage for the confirmation of 26 Commissioners and their portfolios in the coming weeks.

Reaction to the vote was swift. The Greens hailed the outcome as a confirmation of a four-group Democratic majority in the House, preventing the far right from driving the EU agenda. They emphasized the importance of this majority in defending democracy against the far right and building on the success of the Green Deal, developing a climate-neutral industrial policy, and boosting just transition funding.

The Greens said in a statement, “The four-group majority is holding firm and is vital for defending our democracy against the far right. We want to build on this majority to deliver for citizens. We welcome the commitments she has taken to build on the success of the Green Deal, develop a climate-neutral industrial policy, and boost just transition funding.”

Manfred Weber, EPP leader and German MEP, described von der Leyen’s election as a victory for democracy and a united Europe, emphasizing the priorities of prosperity, security, and stopping migration. He added, “Europeans want a democratic Europe, not a radical one. With the election of Ursula von der Leyen, we are strengthening a democratic Europe. The vote was also a vote for clear priorities: prosperity, security, and stopping migration. The next Commission will embody the EPP spirit.”

The S&D Group, the second largest in Parliament, also supported von der Leyen. Its leader, Iratxe Garcia Perez, highlighted the social and green dimensions of the Commission’s Political Guidelines, including a European strategy against poverty and a Commissioner for Housing. Perez said, “We have made the Commission’s Political Guidelines the most social and the greenest ever. With our demands, we shaped the chapter on the social dimension, and we achieved a clear commitment not to cooperate with the far right in the fight against climate change and on a just transition. For the first time, the EU will have a European strategy against poverty, and we will finally address the problem of housing with a Commissioner for Housing. And this will happen because we asked for it.”

However, von der Leyen faced severe criticism from the ECR group. Joachim Brudziński, ECR Co-Chairman, labeled her presidency as “very poor,” citing her management style and decision-making process. He added, “As ECR, we unenthusiastically supported your candidacy five years ago. We made this decision, choosing the lesser evil. Your management style was terrible. Decision-making in a narrow group of German advisors, arrogance, hypocrisy, lack of cooperation with commissioners, exuberant ambitions, and passionate concerns about your own image. This was your work style.”

NGOs like Corporate Europe Observatory echoed these sentiments, criticizing her shift towards a corporate-friendly agenda, which they argue undermines ambitious actions on climate and regulation.

Vicky Cann, Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner, said von der Leyen’s “priorities have drastically changed compared to her first mandate.” She added, “Five years ago, she promised a transformative Green Deal but is now openly embracing corporate lobbyists and their deregulation agenda. At the beginning of her first mandate, von der Leyen lauded the Green Deal as a tool to reconcile the economy with our planet, a strategy that ‘gives more back than it takes away.’ Despite her warm words, her first term as EU Commission president saw strong political, financial, and regulatory support for corporate power. By reappointing von der Leyen, the European Parliament has given corporate power the green light to keep on pushing its damaging pro-business and anti-regulation agenda. This is an agenda that is already well heard in Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission and which does not bode well for ambitious action to tackle the cost of living crisis, nor the use of fossil fuels, harmful chemicals, and pesticides,” she claimed.

On the other hand, Eurelectric welcomed her renewed mandate, praising her pragmatic and ambitious agenda to address geopolitical tensions and industrial competition while promoting the Green Deal.

Kristian Ruby, Eurelectric’s Secretary General, noted the importance of scaling up investments in low-carbon green infrastructure. Kristian Ruby noted, “Von der Leyen set out a pragmatic, yet ambitious agenda for the next five years to address the new challenge landscape the EU is facing with geopolitical tensions, sharpened industrial competition, on top of the impacts from increasingly extreme weather.” He continued, “In particular, Eurelectric welcomes [Ursula von der Leyen’s] announcement of a new Clean Industrial Deal to keep the industry competitive while decarbonizing. We support the call for implementing the Green Deal and positively note the reference to scaling-up investments in low-carbon green infrastructure as well as the creation of a Savings and Investment Union to back this vision with the necessary financial means.”

Chiara Martinelli from Climate Action Network Europe and Petri Salminen, president of SMEunited, offered mixed reactions. Martinelli viewed Ursula von der Leyen’s commitment to a 90% emission cut as a step in the right direction but not ambitious enough, while Salminen emphasized the need for a policy focus on small businesses, welcoming von der Leyen’s recognition of their importance.

More comment on Friday came from Chiara Martinelli, Director at Climate Action Network Europe, who said, “Ursula von der Leyen’s commitment only to 90 percent emission cuts is a step in the right direction but a missed opportunity to align EU’s ambition with science and equity by achieving climate neutrality by 2040 at the latest. She could at least have supported the EU’s scientific advisory board’s and the upper end of her own Commission’s Impact Assessment’s 95 percent reductions.”

Petri Salminen, the president of SMEunited, the EU-wide body representing SMEs, said, “Small businesses emphasized the need to finally make policy on the basis of the 99,8% companies in Europe, instead of for the 0,2% and called for a focus on implementation in this new mandate. We welcome that von der Leyen, in her Political Guidelines, states that future legislation must be designed with small businesses in mind. However, we have seen SME washing before, and therefore call to act according to this statement now. The 24.3 million entrepreneurs, craftswomen, and -men and small businesses in Europe appreciate the recognition given by von der Leyen when she refers to ‘we all know there is no Europe’ without SMEs.”

As Ursula von der Leyen embarks on her second term, the EU faces significant challenges and opportunities. The next five years will test her ability to balance competing interests and drive the EU towards a more sustainable and equitable future.