EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday urged Europe to assert its independence in a “hostile” world, as she condemned Russia’s drone intrusion in Poland and pushed for tougher action against Israel over Gaza.
“Battle lines for a new world order based on power are being drawn right now,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in her annual State of the EU address.
“So, yes, Europe must fight. For its place in a world in which many major powers are either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe,” she said.
“This must be Europe’s independence moment.”
The rallying call from the head of the 27-nation bloc’s executive comes as she battles criticism over a trade deal with US President Donald Trump — which she said had averted “chaos” — and as the bloc struggles for unity on the Gaza conflict.
But it was the war just beyond the bloc’s eastern flank that focused attention after Poland and NATO scrambled their defences to counter an intrusion by Russian drones.
Von der Leyen called the airspace violation “reckless and unprecedented”.
Building up its defences is a central part of the EU’s agenda and von der Leyen said “Europe will defend every inch of its territory”.
“Europe’s eastern flank keeps all of Europe safe. From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. This is why we must invest in supporting it,” she said.
As the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine drags on despite a peace push by Trump, von der Leyen pledged to keep up support for Kyiv and pressure on Moscow.
She said the EU wanted to make sure Russia would ultimately pay for the damage inflicted in Ukraine, with its frozen assets going to fund a new “reparation loan”.
Brussels will also host an international summit on trying to return abducted Ukrainian children, she said.
– Tougher action on Israel –
While the EU has remained largely united on Ukraine, it has been riven over the war on Gaza and has struggled to act against Israel despite growing public ire.
Von der Leyen, a German who has long portrayed herself as an ally of Israel, called for tougher measures including sanctioning “extremist” Israeli ministers, curbing trade ties and stopping bilateral payments.
The measure concerns future allocations of about six million euros ($7 million) a year and about 14 million euros for ongoing institutional cooperation projects, without affecting work with civil society and Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, the commission said.
“What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. People killed while begging for food. Mothers holding lifeless babies. These images are simply catastrophic,” von der Leyen said.
“Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity — this must stop.”
Left-wing lawmakers wore red in protest at the suffering in Gaza, with Green leader Bas Eickhout among those assailing the bloc’s inaction.
“Will we only start acting on Gaza when there is no Gaza left?” he asked.
Israel’s foreign minister meanwhile accused von der Leyen of “sending the wrong message” with her sanctions threat.
Getting the proposed measures by the EU’s member states will remain a major challenge.
– Europe ‘appears weak’ –
In the face of sporadic heckling, von der Leyen meanwhile gave a trenchant defence of her tariffs deal with Trump, arguing that it helped avert the “chaos” of a trade war.
Lawmakers have attacked the deal as lopsided in Washington’s favour, even while recognising that Europe’s security dependence on its US ally left its hands tied in the tariffs fight.
“We are losing the support of the European people, because the Europe supposed to protect them appears weak,” warned centrist Valerie Hayer.
Parliament still has to vote on a text lowering EU tariffs on US goods, which is key to rolling out the full agreement with Washington.
Von der Leyen’s conservatives back the text, but her centrist allies will not commit to supporting it, and the socialist bloc threatens to vote against.
On the assembly’s hard right, meanwhile, the head of the Patriots group, Jordan Bardella, announced he had enough support to file a censure motion aimed at toppling the commission chief.
The hard left intends to do likewise, but both motions, lacking support from the larger mainstream groups, are doomed to fail.
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