Serious illness: Von der Leyen was in hospital with pneumonia

Shortly after the turn of the year, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen became so seriously ill with pneumonia that she was temporarily treated in hospital. According to information from the German Press Agency, the 66-year-old spent a total of around a week at the University Hospital in Hanover. However, she is now feeling much better and can work from home.

The CDU politician published a photo of herself on Instagram on Friday that showed her working from home. The commission said that von der Leyen was never in intensive care. She also had daily contact with her team in the hospital.

Spokesmen for the EU Commission had previously only confirmed that von der Leyen was battling severe pneumonia and had canceled her external appointments for the first two weeks of January. It was said that the President carries out her official duties from Hanover and is in close daily contact with her team. If everything goes well, she will be fully healed and back to work from her office in the Commission building in Brussels by the middle of the month.

Von der Leyen spoke to Meloni on the phone

In recent days, Von der Leyen also spoke on the phone with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, among others, before she met future US President Donald Trump in Florida. A conversation with the new acting Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg is planned for this Saturday. According to her spokeswoman, a decision will be made at the beginning of the week as to whether von der Leyen can chair the weekly meeting of the EU commissioners again next Wednesday.

It has not yet been communicated that von der Leyen was in hospital. The sentence that the CDU politician carries out her official business from Hanover was usually interpreted in Brussels to mean that she works from home. The background is that the Hanover region is von der Leyen’s homeland. When she is not in Brussels or traveling, she lives in the small town of Beinhorn.

Pneumonia (medical: pneumonia) is an inflammation of the lung tissue that is often caused by infections with bacteria, viruses or, more rarely, fungi. It can affect one or both lungs and varies in severity from mild to life-threatening – depending on the cause and the health of the affected person.