It feels nice to meet again someone you haven’t seen for years. It makes you feel a little nostalgic and you spend hours remembering the old memories, adventures and time spent together.

Sometimes, if they’re in trouble, you can help old friends out.

But mostly, you create new memories to talk about during your next meeting.

But what has really happened here?

The title of this week’s Into the bubble is not so far from the real events shown on the photographs. Ursula von der Leyen, Defense Minister of Germany, was nominated by the heads of the EU member states to become the next president of the European Commission in November, 2019. On 4 July she met with the current president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. The two have known each other for years and the meeting went in a friendly atmosphere.

A nominee?

Yes, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated by the European Council along with other important politicians meant to take the EU top jobs: Charles Michels (Belgian Prime Minister) for the European Council presidency, Christine Lagarde (IMF chief) as head of the European Central Bank and Josep Borell (Spanish Minister of foreign affairs) to be the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs.

It is not yet a done deal. The European Parliament has to vote on the nomination of Ursula von der Leyen. The vote will take place on Tuesday, July 16, but some political groups (such as the European Greens for instance) already called to oppose the nomination. Von der Leyen needs a minimum of 376 votes to be elected as the new president of the European Commission and to compose the new college of Commissioners.

Photograph credits : European Commission (Europe by Satellite)
Source: European Commission, Politico, New Europe
Disclaimer: The story used in photographs is false and it was invented for the needs of the article.