Germany's Ursula von der Leyen nominated as first woman to head European Commission
- 5 years ago
European leaders have broken the deadlock and selected their top leaders, nominating Germany's defense chief as the new head of the European Commission.
For more on this and other news around the world, let's turn to our Hong Yoo.
So Yoo, tell us more about these candidates nominated for the most powerful positions in Europe.
Well Connyoung, nominating German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission chief was a choice no one was quite expecting because she was not one of the main front-runners.
The nomination came after three days of negotiations, one of the longest in recent years.
If von der Leyen wins the support of a majority of members in the European Parliament, she will become the first woman to head up the commission.
Von der Leyen has been a member of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats since 2005.
But she's not the only women named to a top EU posts for the first time as the French director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, has been tapped as president of the European Central Bank.
Lagarde was also the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund.
There are two other nominations for different senior posts and they are: Belgium's liberal Prime Minister Charles Michael nominated as the European Council President and Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as the EU foreign policy chief.
European Council President Donald Tusk praised the final outcome.
"First and foremost we have chosen two women and two men for the four key positions: a perfect gender balance. I am really happy about it. After all, Europe is a woman. I think it was worth waiting for such an outcome."
The struggle to reach an agreement on these nominations reflected the bloc's lack of unity due to political fragmentation on pressing crises like Brexit and mass migration.
For more on this and other news around the world, let's turn to our Hong Yoo.
So Yoo, tell us more about these candidates nominated for the most powerful positions in Europe.
Well Connyoung, nominating German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission chief was a choice no one was quite expecting because she was not one of the main front-runners.
The nomination came after three days of negotiations, one of the longest in recent years.
If von der Leyen wins the support of a majority of members in the European Parliament, she will become the first woman to head up the commission.
Von der Leyen has been a member of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats since 2005.
But she's not the only women named to a top EU posts for the first time as the French director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, has been tapped as president of the European Central Bank.
Lagarde was also the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund.
There are two other nominations for different senior posts and they are: Belgium's liberal Prime Minister Charles Michael nominated as the European Council President and Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell as the EU foreign policy chief.
European Council President Donald Tusk praised the final outcome.
"First and foremost we have chosen two women and two men for the four key positions: a perfect gender balance. I am really happy about it. After all, Europe is a woman. I think it was worth waiting for such an outcome."
The struggle to reach an agreement on these nominations reflected the bloc's lack of unity due to political fragmentation on pressing crises like Brexit and mass migration.