According to a report, it is Ursula von der Leyen’s final year as president of the european commission. Reportedly, a state of the union speech delivered on Wednesday could be the last for the german physician who served in Angela Merkel’s cabinet and more recently as minister for defence. Her legacy seems to be that she was a follower of vicisstudes, from being an advocate for nuclear electricity as being green to going along with and supporting exploitive elements in Africa.
The eu commission president is proposed by the european council and elected by the european government. The european council and the council of the eu differ from the council of europe which conversely is not an eu institution and is based in Strasbourg, France. There are 46 member states in the council of europe including 27 eu states. The president of the eu and the president of the european council are also members. The council of europe appears to be advocating human rights, women’s rights mainly and the rule of law (but they are not in the eu?).
Both the european council and the council of the european union act as the voice of eu member governments in the union. The european council, based in Brussels defines the general political direction and priorities of the eu and sets the eu policy agenda. The president is Charles Michel, former prime minister of Belgium. Members are government ministers from every eu country.