Manfred Weber has been elected president of the European People's Party (EPP).

Weber already leads the EPP faction in the European Parliament, where it has a majority.

Weber was elected president of the EPP with 447 votes out of 502 at the party conference in Rotterdam. There were no alternative candidates.

In an interview before his election, Weber told TV channel BR24 that Europe must show more leadership. He advocated the creation of a European army and the abolition of individual EU countries' veto power, which delays decision-making in areas such as foreign policy.