Forging unity within the European Union is rarely easy for a president of the European commission but Ursula von der Leyen managed at least to bring together two strange bedfellows in recent days. As for Juncker’s intervention, sources close to the ex-president say his target was not Von der Leyen but instead the EU’s member states. It has been seen by many in Brussels as a reflection of the growing exasperation, both within the institution and the governments, of some of the member states at Von der Leyen’s performance. “We’re tired of being the scapegoat,” Von der Leyen said in a recent interview. Von der Leyen, he suggests, may have been guilty of letting Boris Johnson get under her skin.

Source: The Guardian March 28, 2021 11:46 UTC