Ursula von der Leyen wins second term: How Ireland’s MEPs voted

Ursula von der Leyen won support from MEPs on Thursday for another five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive body.

The 720-member European Parliament approved her with 401 votes in favour, 284 against and 15 abstentions. She needed 361 votes to pass.

It came after Green MEPs agreed to back her following her pledge to stay the course on Europe’s green transition while cushioning its burden on industry.

5 more years.
I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for the trust of all MEPs that voted for me. pic.twitter.com/d9n3yfIVtS
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 18, 2024

Fine Gael MEPs were the only Irish representatives to say they had voted in favour of Ms von der Leyen.

Ciaran Mullooly, the Independent Ireland MEP who sits in the Renew group with Fianna Fáil, decided to vote against Ms von der Leyen, meaning 10 of Ireland’s 14 MEPs did not support the Commission president.

The others who voted against her include the four…