EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Contracts Severe Pneumonia, Cancels Upcoming Trips
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has fallen ill with a severe lung inflammation and is forced to cancel her upcoming trips, a Commission spokesperson announced on Friday. The 66-year-old has “canceled her external appointments for the first two weeks of January” the spokesperson said.
Among the canceled trips are a speech in Lisbon and a visit to Gdansk, Poland, to mark the start of the Polish Council Presidency, which was previously held by Hungary. The Gdansk visit will be rescheduled for a later date, the EU spokesperson said.
Until her recovery, von der Leyen will continue to carry out her official duties from her hometown of Hanover, remaining in close contact with her team. After her recovery, she plans to return to her office in the Brussels Commission building, the spokesperson added.
Before her return to Brussels, von der Leyen will also need to address a letter from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who called for EU measures to reduce bureaucracy and support the auto and metal industries in a letter to the Commission President. “We now urgently need common European impulses to reduce the costs of bureaucracy and increase the innovation capacity of our companies” Scholz wrote.