When German conservative politician Ursula von der Leyen took over at the helm of the EU executive branch in late 2019, she vowed to make the European Commission a more "geopolitical" force. Little did she know what lay ahead.

The outbreak of war on the European Union's doorstep in Ukraine, and the rush to arm Kyiv against Moscow in many ways overturned the EU's traditional image as a peace project.

"In the last years, many European illusions have been shattered," von der Leyen told the European Parliament last week, presenting plans to massively boost EU weapons production capacity. "The world is as dangerous as it has been for generations."

On Wednesday, the former German defense minister is expected to receive the backing of the largest faction in the European Parliament, the center-right European People's Party, at its congress in Bucharest.

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With the center- and far-right forecast to fare well in June's EU elections, being named the EPP's lead candidate would set von der Leyen in good stead, though it would not guarantee she would stay in the highest EU post until 2029.

In Europe, her legacy positions are clear: backing Ukraine against Russia, greening the EU economy, paving the way for EU neighbors to join the bloc, and more recently a drive to beef up European defense. But assuming she emerges triumphant later this year from the top job race, what would another half-decade of von der Leyen mean for critical players in the rest of the world?

Beijing may be the EU's top trading partner along with the US, but the von der Leyen years have seen a hardening in the bloc's stance towards China. The European Commission president advocates "de-risking" relations with China, which the EU has labeled a "systemic rival."

In practice, that means seeking a more diverse list of suppliers for crucial........

© Deutsche Welle