Question arose after Ursula von der Leyen contracted “severe pneumonia” last week.
The next person in the European Commission’s line of succession if President Ursula von der Leyen is incapacitated is Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera, the EU executive’s spokesperson said Monday.
The question of who would lead the Commission if von der Leyen has to step away from her duties arose after the president’s spokesperson last week announced she has “severe pneumonia” and had canceled her engagements in the first half of January.
While there has been “no need to designate” a stand-in for von der Leyen, “in the order of replacement, the next colleague and member of the college would be indeed Executive Vice President Ribera,” said Commission Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho.
Ribera, a former Spanish deputy prime minister, holds a powerful portfolio as the bloc’s competition chief, net-zero architect and economic transformer.
Pinho added von der Leyen was “keeping the business running” despite her illness and was in “daily contact” with her staff while she recovers in her home city of Hanover.
“She is taking care of herself and making sure that she will be fully fit and able to take up again the daily routine,” Pinho said.
