This week, the Beyond the Byline podcast looks at Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to run for a second term as President of the European Commission.

Ending months of speculation, von der Leyen told members of her conservative CDU party in Germany on Monday (19 February) that she was seeking a second term.

In a speech where she vowed to defend the bloc from forces determined to divide it, von der Leyen by default becomes the frontrunner. Her centre-right party is forecast to win the most seats in June’s EU elections, after which the biggest party gets the right to nominate the next Commission president.

To break down what this bid for a second five-year term means for von der Leyen, the upcoming parliamentary elections and the future of the Green deal, we’re joined by Nick Alipour, Euractiv’s Berlin-based politics correspondent.