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EU President to speak on the situation in Europe

European Commission President-elect Ursula Von der Leyen will give a speech on the situation in Europe in Berlin on Nov 8, with opening remarks by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Ursula Von der Leyen, a long-time close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, had been due to take over as European Commission president on Nov 1. However, her first-choice candidates from France, Hungary and Romania for the EU executive were overwhelmingly rejected by the European Parliament, thereby delaying the start of her commission.

Ursula von der Leyen on Oct 29 formally nominated France's Thierry Breton and Hungary's Oliver Varhelyi as members of the next European Commission. The French businessman and Hungarian diplomat must still be approved by MEPs, and the Romanian nomination remains vacant because of a change of government in Bucharest.

There is also a question over whether the UK will need to nominate a commissioner, as the British government has been granted a Brexit extension till Jan 31.

On Brexit, Ursula Von der Leyen said she still hopes the UK will abandon its plan to leave the EU, but also warned the country to take responsibility and "sort things out".