Ursula von der Leyen calls for European independence in State of the Union speech

STRASBOURG ― Ursula von der Leyen used her State of the Union speech Wednesday to rally against a world that's making Europe less powerful and poorer, where AI is threatening centuries of certainty and in which climate change risks destroying it.

In a longer and more passionate speech than the EU has been used to, the European Commission president made the case for "independence" ― economically, militarily and technologically.

"Europe has chosen to forge its own path," she said, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, alongside special guest Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who shares many of the same perspectives for his country. This was a "complex age of great possibilities and great perils," she said.

While in previous years, the Commission president's annual address has been about a list of ideas and policies the EU should implement, this time a combination of more fragile national governments and the myriad challenges facing the world meant von der Leyen sounded more like she was delivering a direct appeal to Europeans about what kind of place they want to live in.

And in this more fragmented world, as Carney's attendance signaled, for von der Leyen, "Europe" now means more than just the European Union.

"This is a Europe that stands up for each other," she said, referencing two specific examples ― Ukraine and Greenland, neither of which are in the EU. She didn't mention either of their antagonists, Russia and the U.S., by name.

"Europe is there for Europeans," she said. "And that in the cold fragility of today's world, only Europe can provide true sovereignty to Europeans."

Von der Leyen said she wanted to make Canada "the first associate member of the EU," adding she wanted to bring the relationship between the bloc and the North American country "to the highest possible level."

While she underscored that partnership was "not against anyone else," with Canada involved in an even more bitter trade dispute with the U.S. than the EU is, this plan would put von der Leyen and Europe firmly at odds with the White House.

'Tipping points'

Even as von der Leyen is forced to confront the existential threats facing the continent, she made a point of saying she heard the day-to-day concerns of the bloc's 450 million people. With nationalist far-right parties gaining greater support in the EU's biggest countries ― including the Alternative for Germany winning its first German state election and the National Rally on track to make Marine Le Pen French president next year ― the Commission president attempted to appeal to voters and politicians to tack to the center ground.

So while with AI and climate change, von der Leyen zeroed in on two of the greatest perils of our times, saying they they were at "tipping points," she put them in the context of needing to manage them properly to ensure "future prosperity and security."

"Europe is warming at double the global rate," she said, recalling the heat waves and wildfires of the past couple of months. "Of course, the transition is complex. And we will need to adjust and learn along the way." In that, von der Leyen attempted to dismiss criticism that she was steering the EU away from action on green issues. She said the Commission would present a European Heatwave Plan for early-warning systems and better health preparedness.

The bloc will unveil yet another water plan, the "Water Initiative" as von der Leyen called it, in a bid to address water scarcity after the record-breaking summer of droughts. It also aims to tackle water risk management in the agricultural sector, stressing the importance for industry and food security.

The Commission president robustly defended the EU’s green ambitions, urging the bloc to “stay the course on our climate targets” and “step up dramatically on preparedness.”

And while von der Leyen said she was an "AI optimist," she warned that the technology "will soon be in the hands of adversaries who see the world very differently to us." The need is to move AI "from the screen to the real economy and society. On the factory floor. In the hospital ward. In precision agriculture. In our energy grids. For autonomous driving. For defense."

She also said she will invite frontier AI labs for talks on how the EU can support industry efforts to “pace the frontier” — recycling the language first used by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei last weekend in his warning about the speed of AI development.