EU chief Ursula von der Leyen sketched a harder-edged Europe in her state of the union address on Wednesday, setting out plans to fortify the bloc's eastern flank, keep Ukraine funded and reframe ties with Israel.
European Commission President von der Leyen used her annual speech to argue that the EU must “fight” for its position and defend “every inch” of its territory, after more than ten Russian drones violated Polish airspace overnight.
“Battlelines for a new world order based on power are being drawn right now,” she told MEPs at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in a crisp address.
“This must be Europe's independence moment,” she said – a shift for the EU from market superpower to a strategic actor that can protect its borders, project stability and set rules others follow.
Poland calls NATO talks after downing Russian drones in airspace breach
Russian reparations
The incursion over Poland underscores that Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, is not contained neatly at the EU’s edge.
Von der Leyen’s answer was blunt: bolster the bloc's eastern flank “from the Baltic to the Black Sea”, invest in air defence and munitions, and treat territorial integrity as the bedrock of European security.
“We must invest in real-time space surveillance so that no movement of forces goes unnoticed. We must heed our Baltic friends and build a drone wall,” von der Leyen said, referring to the idea of deploying aerial vehicles along borders to monitor threats from Russia.
Von der Leyen pledged that EU support for Kyiv would endure and that Moscow should ultimately foot the bill. Brussels, she said, aims to channel frozen Russian assets into a new “reparations loan” to help rebuild Ukraine.
She also announced an international summit in Brussels focused on returning abducted Ukrainian children.
EU summons Russian envoy after mission damaged in Kyiv strike
Tougher sanctions for Gaza
Meanwhile on Gaza, the EU has struggled to define a common line even as public anger has surged.
Here von der Leyen signalled tougher action, in the form of proposed sanctions on “extremist” Israeli ministers and “violent settlers”.
The European Commission will also put bilateral support to the Israeli state on hold – while continuing to work with civil society and the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance centre.
“Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity – this must stop,” von der Leyen said.
Free from unanimity
The measures on Israel will require the backing of member states, and von der Leyen acknowledged it would be “difficult to find majorities”.
More broadly, she called for the EU to “break free from the shackles of unanimity” in areas such as foreign policy, moving instead to “qualified majority”.
“We need to make sure our Union is faster and can deliver for Europeans,” she said.
Under fire from some quarters for a trade deal with US President Donald Trump, von der Leyen argued the agreement helped avert the “chaos” of a transatlantic trade war.
“The deal provides crucial stability in our relations with the US at a time of grave global insecurity,” she insisted.
(with newswires)
