Ursula von der Leyen
Germany
Christian Democratic Union
President of the European Commission
government
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician and physician who has served as President of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, most recently as Federal Minister for Defence. She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated European political party, the European People's Party (EPP). On 7 March 2024, the EPP elected her as its Spitzenkandidat to lead the campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections. She was re-elected to head the Commission in July 2024.
Standing...
Stories...
Sep 17, 2026
Center
The European Commission President has offered Canada associate EU membership as Trump's trade war reshapes global alliances.
Liberal Democrats will welcome this as a sign of EU dynamism and will argue the UK should seek a similar close relationship rather than standing on the sidelines of a shifting world order.
Sep 17, 2026
Center
The EU Commission chief proposed making Canada the bloc's first associate member, a direct response to deteriorating transatlantic ties under Trump.
Moderates view this as a worrying sign that traditional U.S. alliances are fracturing, forcing even friendly nations to hedge against American unreliability.
Sep 17, 2026
Far Left
Carney referenced her call to move beyond CETA toward an EU-Canada alliance as he addressed European lawmakers in Strasbourg.
The left is skeptical of EU institutional expansion framed as sovereignty, seeing it as a neoliberal bloc that disciplines member states on austerity and migration.
Sep 16, 2026
Lean Right
La présidente de la Commission européenne a fustigé le comportement dangereux de la Russie après des incidents impliquant un drone et des fusées éclairantes.
Pour LR, elle incarne une Europe de la défense nécessaire face à Moscou, mais aussi une Commission jugée trop régulatrice sur les sujets économiques et migratoires.
Sep 11, 2026
Far Right
The European Commission President spoke at the space summit in Paris alongside Emmanuel Macron.
For the RN, von der Leyen represents an EU that erodes French sovereignty, whether through space policy, migration, or energy, and her presence with Macron underscores the subservience of the French president to Brussels.
Sep 8, 2026
Center
The EU Commission president unveiled a €200 million investment package for Greenland during her visit, countering US President Trump's claims on the island.
Her decisive move aligns with the Renaissance line of maintaining European strategic autonomy vis-à-vis American expansionism in the Arctic.
Sep 7, 2026
Far Right
European Commission President is central to escalating EU-China trade tensions, with some Chinese workers reportedly seeing Brussels as an ally.
Pro-reform Chinese workers view von der Leyen's stance as a potential counterweight to Beijing's trade bullying, though they worry about broader economic fallout.
Sep 7, 2026
Far Right
Commission president visits Greenland to sign a joint declaration with Denmark, reinforcing EU presence against US ambitions.
RN critics dismiss her as an overreaching Eurocrat spending energy on distant territories while ignoring France's domestic crises like migration and national identity.
Sep 6, 2026
Far Right
EU trade tensions with China are mounting, and some Chinese workers see Brussels as an ally.
Pro-reform voices see EU's stance as a leverage point for labor rights and trade fairness against China's state capitalism.
Sep 3, 2026
Far Right
The European Commission president said the EU must be ready to respond to 'Russian war madness' during a meeting with NATO's Mark Rutte.
RN sees von der Leyen as a federalist warmonger whose confrontational rhetoric weakens peace prospects and ties France to NATO's agenda.