Georgian leaders congratulated Ursula von der Leyen on her election as the new President of the European Commission.
“Georgia sees in you the Europe we all need. I look forward to our working relationship in the near future”, President Salome Zurabishvili wrote in her Twitter post.
A sincere and warm congratulations to @vonderleyen, the President-elect of the @EU_Commission. Georgia sees in you the Europe we all need. I look forward to our working relationship in the near future. ???? pic.twitter.com/uQ2BDxzaYd
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) July 16, 2019
Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze took to Twitter as well, saying he is looking forward to “working closely together to further advance and strengthen Georgia-EU ties and achieve greater goals in our relations!”
My most sincere congratulations to @vonderleyen on her election as first female President of the European Commission! Look forward to working closely together to further advance & strengthen #Georgia–#EU ties and achieve greater goals in our relations!
— Mamuka Bakhtadze (@BakhtadzeMamuka) July 16, 2019
Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze also congratulated the President-elect on her victory.
“EU is one of Georgia’s key partners and supporters. We believe that with its new President the Commission will strengthen its support for our country’s democratic development and western aspirations”, Talakvadze said.
Speaker Talakvadze then wished Ursula von der Leyen success on leading “this important EU institution” as well as for “achieving welfare, peace and stability throughout the world.”
On Tuesday, July 16, Members of the European Parliament approved Ursula Von Der Leyen as the President of the European Commission. 383 MEPs voted in favour of Von Der Leyen, narrowly surpassing 374 votes needed for her confirmation.
Ursula Von Der Leyen, 60, Brussels born and raised German, who until recently served as German Defense Minister became a surprise choice by the European Council to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the head of the Commission, on July 2, 2019.
Ursula Von Der Leyen is a Christian-Democrat politician, a close, long-time ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, having served in Merkel’s cabinet since 2005.
Von Der Leyen will be the first woman to lead the commission. She is also the first German head of the European Commission since her compatriot Walter Hallstein, who led EU’s executive arm in 1958-1967.
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