European Commission president addresses a parliament reeling from Trump trade deal and escalations in Ukraine and Gaza
When Ursula von der Leyen arrived in the vast semi-circle debating chamber in the European parliament in Strasbourg, she greeted MEP leaders of some of Europe’s political groups warmly. Wearing a trim khaki-green jacket, the European Commission president smiled, shook hands and exchanged air kisses with some of the politicians, who had front-row seats for her annual state of the union address.
The hour-long speech on Wednesday had a stark message: Europe must fight for its place in an “unforgiving” world, facing major powers that are either “ambivalent or openly hostile” towards it.
Only minutes after she sat down, she was hearing equally tough responses. “We are losing Europeans; we’re not taking them with us. We’re weak when they want protection,” Valérie Hayer, leader of the centrist Renew group, told her. “The summer was very painful,” said Green leader Bas Eickhout. “Europe has entered a world of power, yet we are still playing chess in a boxing match.”
These were more than routine rhetorical flourishes. This summer was one of harsh realities for the EU. The US trade deal von der Leyen signed with Donald Trump in July was an unequal bargain, decried by right and left as a humiliation for Europe. Russia escalated its attacks on Ukraine, while EU leaders were left wincing at the spectacle of Trump’s red carpet welcome for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska. Israel’s war on Gaza continued relentlessly, killing more than 64,000 people and bringing famine to the strip, while EU countries were unable to agree on modest sanctions against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Meanwhile, forest fires, exacerbated by the climate crisis, broke records as flames consumed 1m hectares across affected countries, an area equivalent to about one-third of Belgium.
