The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had been forced to cancel all her professional engagements until at least Wednesday 15 January, due to a severe case of pneumonia.
As a result, Ms von der Leyen did not attend the opening ceremony of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Warsaw on Friday 3 January, and the meeting between the College of Commissioners and the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which was due to take place in Gdańsk on...