Ursula von der Leyen was appointed as the next European Commission President on Tuesday night with a majority of 9 votes. Professor and author James Crabtree argued that Mrs von der Leyen would have an uphill battle when trying to unite dealing with a divided EU. He insisted that her slim victory emphasises the divisions in the European Union and would spell trouble for her as she tries to resolve Brexit.

Mr Crabtree told CNBC: “I’m not sure what Ursula can do EU-US relations in particular.

“She comes in as a weakened Commission President.

“The European Commission has become stronger over recent years but she only scraped by, she doesn’t have much of a mandate.

“She faces a Europe that is increasingly divided.

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“All of the top team that they now have in place, they are all federalists but the politics of the EU is increasingly riven down the middle.

“It is between the populist and federalists, between the west and the east.

“So Ursula von der Leyen’s room for manoeuvre, whether that is on fiscal rules or Brexit is a little bit complicated.”

The CNBC host then questioned what the professor believed would happen with Brexit and how Mrs von der Leyen could deal with the issue.

Mr Crabtree replied: “I think Brexit is going to continue to be a big mess on the European side.

“She sounds reasonably emollient.

“She said that another delay is perfectly possible, I think that is probably where we are heading.

“From the European side perhaps the more significant appointment isn’t von der Leyen but it is Charles Michel who is the replacement for Donald Tusk.

“Donald Tusk has been very tolerant of the UK as it makes a big mess of everything.

“But Charles Michel is much closer to Emmanuel Macron and much more critical of the UK.

“So he is one of the figures pushing for a tougher line, I still think we are likely to have another delay but that delay can’t keep happening indefinitely.”

Both Tory Leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have pledged to speak with the EU as Prime Minister in hopes of forming a new withdrawal agreement.

However, the new European Commission President has hinted that she would be open for an extension beyond the October 31 Brexit deadline.

Ms von der Leyen was confirmed as the next Commission President by a margin of 383 votes to 327 on Tuesday night, securing just over the 374 votes she needed to win. She will replace Jean-Claude Juncker on 1 November.

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