Ursula von der Leyen will remain President of the European Commission. At least, if it were up to the heads of government of the 27 EU member states. During the EU summit in Brussels, they shared the top European positions.

Former Portuguese social democrat Prime Minister António Costa will become president of the European Council, succeeding Belgium’s Charles Michel. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will become the EU’s foreign policy chief, the bloc’s top diplomat. She will succeed Spain’s Josep Borrell. Government leaders have allowed Maltese European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to run for a second term, just like von der Leyen.

Political preference played the most important role in distribution, but it was already known that geographic distribution and the ratio of males to females would also be important.

The chances of German von der Leyen retaining her position have increased recently, as the Christian Democrats continued to constitute the largest group in the European Parliament elections this month. This faction is also represented by Parliament Speaker Mitsola.

For three of the politicians involved, the champagne can’t be opened yet. The heads of government have now formally nominated their candidates, but they still need to be approved by the European Parliament. The vote is expected to take place in July. If there is no chance of a majority, the vote could be postponed until September.

Only Antonio Costa doesn’t have to wait for that. The President of the European Council, which consists of the heads of government of EU member states, is directly elected by the heads of government.

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