Deadline approaches for EU's von der Leyen to declare re-election bid

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has five weeks to inform her political party, the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), whether she intends to seek re-election.

The deadline for nominating EPP candidates for the post of European Commission president is February 21, according to information obtained by dpa on Wednesday.

The single EPP candidate will then be chosen at a party congress in Bucharest on March 7. Within the EPP, it is widely expected that von der Leyen will campaign for a second term but she has yet to make a public announcement.

European Parliament elections will take place from June 6-9 and will form the basis for the subsequent decisions on which parties receive what position in the next European Commission.

The next European Commission president will be proposed by the European Council, the EU institution made up of the heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states.

However, the person put forward must still be elected by the European Parliament.

According to opinion polls, it is currently likely that the EPP will once again become the strongest political force in the European elections.

In addition to the German centre-right parties CDU and CSU, the Austrian ÖVP and the current governing parties from countries such as Greece, Poland, Sweden and Luxembourg are also EPP members.