European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen has issued a bold call for Europe to defend itself against Russia and punish the Israeli government.
As news reports showed Polish fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian drones over the territory of a NATO member state, von der Leyen's resolute State of the European Union (EU) speech stood in stark contrast to her own political stance, writes Politiko. Under fire for her unbalanced trade deal with Donald Trump and facing multiple no-confidence votes in the European Parliament (EP), she cast aside nostalgia and passivity and went on the offensive against her opponents.
At the first session of parliament after the summer recess, she faced boos and jeers from MPs, mostly right-wingers when she spoke about Gaza, but later, when she mentioned environmentally friendly cars, even from her own ranks.
Europe must fight, she said, acknowledging an uneasy turn for a union that was born as a peace project in the ashes of World War II.
Yet while she has made concrete proposals to strengthen Europe’s military might, confront Israel and address the housing crisis, von der Leyen has struggled to hold together her fragile coalition of pro-European centrists and show angry voters that Brussels can address their growing list of fears in today’s “ruthless” world, the Brussels portal points out. It is clear that citizens are increasingly blaming her: six out of ten respondents in a recent survey said she should resign over the asymmetric trade deal with the US.
"I will never gamble with people's jobs and livelihoods," she said of the agreement.
"Politiko" writes that the first State of the EU speech of her second term was carefully guarded and that even officials in the Commission's communications department received the prepared text only shortly before Von der Leyen took center stage in the Strasbourg plenary hall.
Events that hit the headlines in the final hours while the speech was still being finalized gave added urgency to the 7.500-word address: a brazen Israeli attack on Hamas officials in Qatar and a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace.
Von der Leyen did offer new ideas for both crisis zones, however.
While U.S. support for NATO remains in question, von der Leyen has proposed creating an “Eastern Wing Guard,” including funds for a so-called drone wall long sought by the Baltic states, as well as a space surveillance system. She has also suggested using frozen Russian assets as collateral for a “reconstruction loan” to finance Ukraine for years to come.
She called for new sanctions on Russia and said the EU was preparing measures against a "secret fleet" of tankers transporting its oil, as well as against third countries that buy it, Reuters reported.
She also signaled a shift in her approach to Netanyahu's government. After being criticized by many capitals after Hamas' brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, for not placing any limits on Israel's right to defend itself, von der Leyen said yesterday that the "deliberately induced famine" in Gaza was part of a "systematic reversal in recent months that is simply unacceptable."
"Politiko" writes that the Commission itself can do little, but that Von der Leyen made a vague promise to stop "bilateral payments" to Israel. While the left side of the chamber was filled with red-clad MEPs, who paid tribute to the victims of Gaza, Von der Leyen also proposed harsher penalties - suspending the trade agreement with Israel and sanctioning extremist ministers.
Although they represent a significant tightening of the Commission's approach, these measures are unlikely to gain the necessary support in the permanently divided Council, which consists of the EU's 27 national governments, the portal points out.
A year ago, just months after voters swung the EP to the right in the 2024 elections, von der Leyen presented plans to MEPs for a less meddling Europe. Cutting red tape became the mantra. “Competitiveness” came first, and “climate” relegated to second place.
The outcome has sparked growing discontent among socialist, liberal and green MEPs, who have historically worked with von der Leyen’s centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) to lead the EU and supported her election as president. The centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) did not support a far-right MP’s attempt to pass a no-confidence motion against von der Leyen in July, but have vowed “resistance” if her policies continue to veer to the right.
But with at least two more no-confidence votes expected, and while von der Leyen is dismissing simmering discontent within the Commission itself, she has offered a whole range of social policies.
These include the fight against poverty, the quality jobs law and the housing policy package, and she has also tried to combine climate goals with competitiveness through a plan to produce small electric vehicles in Europe. However, she has also provoked outrage from her own EPP.
Although they represent a significant tightening of the Commission's approach, the measures against Israel will be difficult to gain the necessary support in the permanently divided Council.
Von der Leyen appeared relaxed, often smiling even as she directly addressed persistent naysayers as "this noisy side of the room."
However, as "Politiko" reports, the discussion among the leaders of political groups that followed her speech could hardly have been pleasant for her, as it showed that there were almost no changes in the polarized dynamics of the EP.
The EU's strategic autonomy, said S&D leader Iracha Garcia, has been buried "under a golf course", alluding to the trade agreement with the US, which shows that the second largest grouping is still nowhere near supporting it.
While Iracha Garcia and EPP head Manfred Weber, von der Leyen's main ally in the EP, traded blows, the leader of the centrist Renew group expressed disgust.
"Stability and understanding among the pro-European forces in this room are absolutely vital," Valerie Ayer told the EC chief.
“People are watching this at home and a pathetic spectacle is unfolding before them.”
Not a word about Serbia
Von der Leyen mentioned the Western Balkans in part, in the context of EU enlargement. She said that future members of the bloc should be brought closer through investments, support for reforms and integration into the common market, the Beta agency reported.
"We must keep up the pace in this merit-based process. Because only a united – and re-united – Europe can be an independent Europe. A larger and stronger Union is a security guarantee for all of us. And because for Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans – their future is in our Union. Let's make the next reunification of Europe a reality," she said in her address to the EP.
However, although the day before, MEPs publicly announced in a debate on the situation in Serbia that they expected the EC President to react to the developments in that country and to the membership of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party in the EPP, she did not even mention Serbia.
The EC chief also spoke about media freedom, stressing that it is the backbone of every democracy and that the first step of an autocrat is always to seize independent media. She announced increased EU funding to support free journalism, as well as the establishment of a European Center for Democratic Resilience to combat manipulation and disinformation.
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