After weeks of absence Ursula von der Leyen is about to return to the command posts of the European Commission. The president was hospitalized for severe pneumonia which forced her to abandon her commitments, an absence which sparked quite a bit of controversy due to the lack of transparency towards the press regarding what was happening .
The missions
“The president is recovering well and is at home in Hanover, Germany”, said the spokesperson of the community executive, Paula Pinho, yesterday (Monday 13 January), assuring that the German MP should resume her appointments “by the end of the week” before being able to travel again next week. In particular, von der Leyen will participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos, organized in Switzerland from 20 to 24 January, and will be at the European Parliament in Strasbourg during the plenary session scheduled for 20 to 23 January.
The European Commission’s visit to Poland, which had been postponed due to von der Leyen’s “severe pneumonia”, will instead take place on 6 and 7 February. Warsaw has held the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union since the beginning of January.
Skip the first college
As he is still recovering, von der Leyen will not chair the first meeting of the College of Commissioners of 2025, scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday 15 January). Vice President Teresa Ribera will do so in her place. Several journalists have argued in recent days with the European Commission over the “lack of transparency” of the European executive regarding the 66-year-old’s treatment. This is because it was only following what was reported by the German press that Brussels confirmed that the president had been hospitalized, while its spokespersons continued to repeat that politics continued to “carry out its tasks” remotely, “in close daily contact with his team.”
On January 3, the European executive announced that von der Leyen would not be able to travel for fifteen days due to “severe pneumonia”. “She was never on a ventilator or in intensive care. She was in daily contact with her team. Her ability to act was never in question,” assured Paula Pinho.