EU leaders have agreed to return Ursula von der Leyen as the head of the European Commission, in a move backed on Friday by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's political party despite her abstaining on the vote in Brussels.
Italy's Forza Italia, part of the right-wing ruling coalition, will vote in favour of Ms von der Leyen as president of the Commission, the country's Foreign Minister and head of the party Antonio Tajani said just hours after Ms Meloni expressed her displeasure at being excluded from negotiations on EU jobs.
Ms Meloni's abstention had raised questions about the Ms von der Leyen's ability to gather enough support in a secret vote to be held next month in the EU Parliament – the final green light before her appointment is final.
The Italian leader said negotiators ignored the success of her far-right group in the recent European election.
Questioned about Ms Meloni's criticism, Ms von der Leyen told reporters that she would work with the whole of parliament.
“We work with those who are pro-European, pro-Ukraine and pro-rule of law and I have to convince a majority,” she said on Friday morning at the end of a meeting of the 27 EU leaders, during which the top jobs led the agenda.
Heads of state also confirmed their backing for Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the bloc's foreign affairs chief and former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chairman of their European Council meetings, the only official who does not need a parliament vote to be confirmed in his job.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the “quick, forward-looking” decisions on top jobs, saying the nominees would “ensure that Europe is well positioned in challenging times in the coming years”.
The Kremlin said the nominations of Ms von der Leyen and Ms Kallas were bad for EU-Russia relations.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Ms Kallas was known for her stark anti-Russian statements and had not shown any inclination towards diplomacy. Moscow in February declared Ms Kallas a “wanted person” for removing Soviet-era Second World War memorials in Estonia
Ms Meloni said on X that she decided not to support the leadership slate “out of respect for the citizens and the indications that came from those citizens during the elections”. She voted against Mr Costa and Ms Kallas and abstained on Ms von der Leyen.
Although there was a desire to achieve unanimity, the decision needed the support of 15 of 27 leaders.
Leaders had attempted to assuage Ms Meloni ahead of the meeting, with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who negotiated the deal for the European People's Party, sending a strong signal in her direction as the summit opened.
“There is no Europe without Italy, and there's no decision without Prime Minister Meloni. It's obvious,” he told reporters, with similar conciliatory sounds coming from Greece and Cyprus.
The three political groups that are most powerful in the European Parliament – the right (EPP), socialists (S&D) and centre (Renew) – held negotiations to choose their nominees.
Short of a seat at the top table, Ms Meloni made it clear she wanted an influential role for Italy, starting with a vice presidency in the next European Commission, with a say over industry and agriculture.
Tested during her first term by crises from the Covid pandemic to the Ukraine war, former German defence minister Ms von der Leyen, if confirmed, faces another set of challenges, from the Russian threat, to climate change, to a rising China.
There was little mystery around the final line-up, as an inner group of leaders had locked in a draft deal on the three names days earlier.
Ms Kallas said she was honoured to be chosen for the role of foreign policy chief for the bloc. “This is an enormous responsibility in this time of geopolitical tensions. There's war in Europe, but there's also growing instability globally,” she told reporters.
Speaking by video link, Mr Costa said he would be “fully committed to promoting unity among the 27 member states” in his new role. Politicians are expected to return the EPP's Roberta Metsola as EU Parliament President.
With France heading to the polls on Sunday for the first round of an election where the far-right National Rally has a chance of leading the government, there was clear eagerness to have the EU jobs squared away.
The summit was also a new chance to display a united front on Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined EU leaders to sign an accord on long-term security commitments, two days after Ukraine began formal membership negotiations.
While hailing the deal, Mr Zelenskyy spoke of the need to take the “next steps” including air defence, which was needed “urgently on the battlefield”.
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
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MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
