EU heads of government have met in Brussels for a summit that saw major changes in the top jobs. Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa was named as the next president of the European Council, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Ursula von der Leyen was confirmed as a candidate for another term at the helm of the European Commission. TVP World spoke to the Geremek Foundation’s Piotr Kaczyński about the changes at the top.

Kaczyński made the point that the jobs have been allocated at a crucial time for the bloc as it faces multiple internal and external challenges including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. He said Costa’s position was secure and he would take office on December 1. Von der Leyen’s future is less certain, however.

“She hasn't been appointed, apparently,” Kaczyński noted. “She only has been formally made a candidate… and the election is in the European Parliament. And whether the parliament will actually elect her is a big question.”

He went on to highlight the changing make-up of the European Parliament with the “implosion” of the center and Renew Europe.

“The big coalition that Ursula von der Leyen had over the previous five years… is probably not enough,” he said, adding that it remained to be seen whether the gap in the center would gravitate towards the right wing of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni or more towards the Greens.

He also said the composition of the Council would likely change as there have previously been very few hard right people in the Council – only Meloni, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.

The next summit will see the presence of a new Dutch prime minister as well as another new prime minister from Belgium, meaning there may be five leaders representing the far right and things will be very different, Kaczyński suggested.

“So this is exactly what this European Council is about,” he observed. “This is about securing the mandate for the next five years, because in a few weeks we will probably see a different European Council, also French elections are coming.”

Over the coming five years, Kaczyński said there were three outstanding issues: security, economy, and the Green Deal and energy transition, all of which present more questions than answers.