Ursula von der Leyen is set to announce her plan to see re-election as the President of the European Commission within just hours.
The German politician has been under pressure for months to express her intentions to retain her position at the helm of the most powerful institution in Brussels.
While the 65-year-old has been so far holding her cards close to her chest, she is expected to announce her plans to seek a second term as the Commission’s president at a meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, of which she is a member, in Berlin on February 19.
This will mark only the first of a long series of steps required for her to continue to serve as the president of the Commission.
After being selected by the CDU, Ms Von der Leyen will need to be backed by two other parties within the European Parliament’s centre-right grouping, the European People’s Party (EPP).
A third key moment will see Ms Von der Leyen trying to win a vote at the EPP’s Congress to be held next month in Bucharest.
The final test for Ms Von der Leyen will come in early June, when European citizens are to cast their vote in the European elections.
While to be reelected she needs the EEP to perform well in the elections, Ms Von der Leyen won’t be automatically reelected even if the group wins a majority in the European Parliament, as it will be up to EU leaders to decide whether they want to nominate her again.
In 2019, when she was appointed, the name of Ms Von der Leyen was put forward by the German government after the EEP candidate, Manfred Weber, failed to receive the support of the socialist wing in the parliament, which in turn was favouring Frans Timmermans.
Nevertheless, given the current geopolitical climate Ms Von der Leyen has a good chance to retain her seat as many leaders will seek “stability and a safe pair of hands” amid the war in Ukraine, the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House and the surge of the far-right in Europe, Politico wrote in its daily Brussels Playbook.
Indeed, speculation about Ms Von der Leyen’s future comes just days after she discussed Europe’s security at the Munich Security Conference.
On Saturday, the German politician said the Commission would present within weeks a defence industrial strategy outlining a roadmap to ramp up defence production in Europe amid fears Russian President Vladimir Putin may soon attack another nation in the continent.
On this note, the president of the European Commission also said during the conference it would be “reasonable” to create the post of Defence Commissioner in the EU after the elections.
The politician, who was Germany’s Defence Minister prior to 2019, said: “If I would be the president of the next European Commission, I would have a commissioner for defence.”
