European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has cancelled her travel plans until mid-January because of a "severe" case of pneumonia, her office said Friday.

The German politician, 66, is carrying out her duties from her home city of Hanover and remains in close contact with her team, a spokesman for the commission said.

"The president has cancelled her external engagements for the first two weeks of January. She is dealing with a severe pneumonia," the spokesman said. 

Among the events that von der Leyen, who has led the commission since 2019, had to call off were a speech in Lisbon and a trip next week to Gdansk in Poland. 

The latter, which was to mark the launch of the Polish presidency of the European Council, will take place at a later stage, the spokesman said.