Dear readers, EU leaders on Thursday gave their political approval to a trio of names - Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa, and Kaja Kallas - to lead the EU's three major institutions over the next five years. The EU’s top job ‘package deal’ includes a second term for incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from centre-right European People's Party (EPP), Portugal's former Socialist prime minister Antonio Costa as European Council president, and Estonia’s Liberal Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the EU's new foreign policy chief, several EU diplomats confirmed. The whole process, however, is not yet finished. Von der Leyen must still be approved by the European Parliament. |