EU elects Germany's defense leader Ursula von der Leyen as president

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The European Parliament chose German former Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen as its next Commission president on Tuesday, as the interventionist will face pressing issues like Brexit, Russian pressure in the Crimea, continued extremism in the Middle East, and the fallout of US sanctions after Washington left the Iran nuclear deal.

"Long live Europe," the polyglot told European MPs in Strasbourg, France, after she won 383 of 747 votes to secure the presidency. There were 22 MPs who abstained and she needed 374 votes in favor. "I was a European before I later learned that I am a German of Lower Saxony. That is why there is only a single thing for me: European oneness and strength," she tweeted.

 

"Rosie," as she's known in Germany, beat out German conservative Manfred Weber, Danish Liberal Magrethe Vestager, and Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans.

As the first women to secure the position, the 60-year-old will replace Jean-Claude Juncker on November 1, one day after Britain is due to leave the European Union. The presidency is a five-year term. 

“The trust you placed in me is confidence you placed in Europe. Your confidence in a united and strong Europe, from east to west, from south to north,” Von der Leyen told reporters. “It’s a big responsibility and my work starts now.”

Von Der Leyen has often referred to the EU as the "united states of Europe" to demonstrate her support for a united 28-member-state region. She lacked support from Green Party politicians, but was said to have the backing of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“Let us work together constructively because the endeavor is a united and strong Europe,” she added.

She hails from Lower Saxony and has served as Germany's defense minister under Merkel since December 2013 as a member of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU).

 

The new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Transportation and Communications conveyed Erbil’s congratulations to Von Der Leyen on Wednesday.

 

“Congratulations dear Ursula von der Leyen … President-elect of the European Commission,” tweeted Anoo Abdoka, the only Christian minister in the new KRG cabinet.

 

A strong supporter of NATO and of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, she pushed the German parliament to remain engaged in supporting the two organizations, particularly in Iraq, where the former has a training mission and the latter continues anti-ISIS operations working with forces of the federal government and the KRG.

Von der Leyen came to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in February. She ushered in the first phase of the first ever Peshmerga Hospital that Berlin allocated €6 million for. 

Up to 150 German soldiers are  based at the international anti-ISIS Combined Joint Operations Command Center in Erbil, where they have worked with Iraqi and Kurdish commanders, in addition to Peshmerga units through the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center (KTTC).

“We all know that the Peshmerga on our behalf and that of the world, fought very well against ISIS,” she said while in Erbil.

The military defeat of ISIS is a “transitional” stage, she said. “We want to impose this triumph and spread it throughout Iraq.”

It was her fifth visit to the Kurdistan Region as Germany's defense minister.

“We all know that the Peshmerga on our behalf and that of the world, fought very well against ISIS,” she said. "...the end of ISIS war does not mean full restoration of stability.”

The European Union in ministerial-level meetings this week has scrambled to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal. Iran is hopeful that it can sell energy, in particular natural gas, to EU member states as its economy plummets.

Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei warned the United Kingdom on Tuesday that Tehran will respond to British Royal Marines detaining an oil tanker believed to be carrying millions of barrels of Iranian oil to Syria, a violation of EU sanctions targeting Damascus. 

“In the midst of these unreasonable actions, this malign Britain commits piracy and steals our ship. It commits crime under a legal veil. The Islamic Republic and devout members of the establishment will not leave these wicked acts without answer," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Von der Leyen is known to be a stalwart in European and German political circles. It is yet to be seen how the former defense minister, widely seen as an interventionist, will handle the Iran issue and Russian influence on Europe's borders in her new more diplomatic role.

She has earned a doctorate in medicine from the Hannover Medical School as well studying at the prestigious London School of Economics while her family hid abroad from the notorious Baader-Meinhof Gang (Red Army Faction) in the 1970s.

"There will be a fast replacement. The Defence Ministry, the defence minister, holds command and authority. You cannot leave that open long. So it will not take long and you will be informed," Merkel told reporters after hearing the news.

Update: 10:29 a.m.