BERLIN, Feb 19, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Ursula von der Leyen is poised to announce 
Monday her bid for a second term as chief of the European Commission, at a 
time when the bloc's unity faces strong headwinds from the far-right.

At the helm since 2019, the 65-year-old had led the bloc's executive body as 
the EU traversed an extraordinary period of disruptions -- from Brexit to the 
coronavirus pandemic to Russia's invasion of its pro-EU neighbour Ukraine.

Hendrik Wuest, a key figure in von der Leyen's Christian Democratic Union 
(CDU) party in Germany, said her new bid would be a much needed constant at a 
time of uncertainties.

"A second term would be a sign of stability, that is all the more needed at a 
time when our European values are being attacked from all sides," he told 
news site Politico. 

Von der Leyen's candidacy is expected to be announced at around midday at a 
press conference at the CDU's headquarters in Berlin.

The broader alliance of conservatives across the bloc -- the European 
People's Party group to which the CDU belongs -- would then name her as its 
lead candidate for the post in Bucharest on March 6-7, EPP leader Manfred 
Weber has said.

Von der Leyen, a protege of former German chancellor Angela Merkel who has 
served as minister on all four of her cabinets, is the first woman to lead 
the commission.

A second von der Leyen commission would likely find itself with a changed 
political landscape.

Voter surveys suggest extreme-right, anti-immigrant parties across Europe 
will grab more seats in European Parliament elections on June 6-9, pushing 
the legislature to the right.

That could slow progress towards European Union green transition that von der 
Leyen had made a cornerstone of her first term. It could also grow the cohort 
of European lawmakers sympathetic to Donald Trump should he regain the White 
House.

- Firm on Ukraine support -

EU lawmaker Daniel Caspary of the CDU said he expected her priorities to 
shift, with more concessions to Europe's farmers, though her support for 
Ukraine and for sanctions against Russia were likely to remain.

Underlining the crucial importance of standing firmly behind Kyiv, von der 
Leyen told the Munich Security Conference over the weekend that it was "much 
more than a question of Russia-Ukraine. 

"It's a question of whether democracies globally prevail, and are we able to 
defend and protect our values. And the answer has to be yes," she stressed.

With her next term to possibly coincide with a return by Trump, who has 
rattled NATO allies by threatening to abandon those who fail to meet their 
defence spending commitments, von der Leyen also voiced the importance of 
building a "strong Europe".

The bloc has to boost its defence resources -- improving spending on defence 
production and ensuring that the manufacturing is done in Europe so that 
billions in taxpayers' funds are channelled to companies that are creating 
jobs on the continent.

Von der Leyen also outlined plans to "install a commissioner for defence" if 
she won a new term.

"And where he or she is coming from -- this is open but of course I think 
it's very important for the central and eastern European countries to have 
good portfolios and this is a good portfolio," she said.