Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's decision not to back Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission chief was driven by fear of losing rightwing grassroots supporters, analysts say, but may curb her influence over EU choices.

Meloni, who has led a right-wing Italian government since 2022, said she supported von der Leyen's comments in her address to the European Parliament on the need to control immigration but the Italian leader added that Europe overall needed less regulation and to find ways to boost its economic competitiveness.

Giorgia Meloni’s move to oppose a new term for European Commission chief Ursala von der Leyen won’t isolate Italy or keep the country out of decision-making in the future, the prime minister told daily Corriere della Sera.

The European Parliament voted the centrist Ursula von der Leyen to a second five-year term as European Commission president, the top job in the European Union, after big wins for anti-EU, far-right-parties in elections.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ursula von der Leyen secured the backing of EU lawmakers on Thursday for another five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body. Following

Beijing has taken issue with the political guidelines of Ursula von der Leyen, which call for the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to be respected.

Ursula von der Leyen has been reelected for a second five-year term as president of the EU Commission. Von der Leyen has made strong statements in favor of defending democracy

Ursula von der Leyen was re-appointed as European Commission president on Thursday, 18 July, provoking different reactions in the Strasbourg hemicycle.