European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has cancelled several engagements planned for the first two weeks on January after contracting “severe pneumonia”, news outlets across the bloc are reporting.
A spokesman for the EU leader told the Polish Press Agency on January 3 that she would not be able to table a European Commission meeting set to be held in Gdańsk on January 9 and 10, with the location set to mark the beginning of Poland’s presidency of the European Council.
The meeting will now “take place at a later date”.
“She’s suffering from pneumonia. As a result she has cancelled some engagements for the first two weeks of January, including a planned speech in Lisbon and a trip to Gdansk,” said European Commission spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker.
The Polish outlet meanwhile characterised the illness as being “severe”.
According to German publication Der Spiegel, officials have also said that she will spend the next two weeks in Hanover, Lower Saxony.
“The President will carry out her official duties from Hanover,” one official said, adding that she will return to Brussels once she is feeling better.
“If all goes well, the President will be fully recovered by the middle of the month.”
Von der Leyen has just turned the #EU into a cheerleader for Islamist terrorism, writes ✍? @bogdanosk.
Read the full comment ?? https://t.co/D5TTnT4UJr #policy pic.twitter.com/BalRi3EuHy
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 10, 2024
