EU chief calls for creation of ‘European Security Council’, backs partnership with Canada
· France 24The EU is dealing with "an openly hostile world", EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during her State of the European Union (SOTEU) address in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
"A territorial war of aggression is raging on our continent; others have erupted nearby. A fight for industrial capacities is shaping global competition. And a battle of narratives is seeking to weaken confidence in Europe," von der Leyen said.
“The fate of Europe must remain in the hands of Europeans,” said von der Leyen. “In the cold fragility of today’s world, only Europe can provide true sovereignty to Europeans.”
The EU chief also called for the 27-nation bloc to fight back against "the ultranationalists or the anti-Europeans" who want to undermine it.
"Do we let our democracies be undermined by the proxies and puppets of authoritarians?" von der Leyen said in a keynote speech. "They despise our values, and they want to shatter our European unity. So let's not only fight back against that, let's fight together for our European idea."
Addressing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was the special guest for this year's SOTEU address, von der Leyen said the EU is opening the door for Canada to become the first associate member, a status that does not exist under the bloc's treaties.
"Partnerships are a strategic choice for Europe. But they also respond to the fracture in the international rules-based system," said von der Leyen.
"We see the world with the same eyes: from AI to climate change, from the Arctic to geopolitics. And we have stood together: on Ukraine, on defence, on raw materials and on supply chains. But above all ... Europe and Canada believe in democracy," she said.
European Security Council and new 'playbook' against hybrid attacks
Von der Leyen proposed creating a European Security Council that could bring together the EU and partners such as Canada, Britain and Norway and establishing an "emergency security protocol" to allow EU members to trigger discussions to respond to crises.
“Europe needs its own counter-hybrid playbook,” said von der Leyen, referring to so-called hybrid attacks such as sabotage attempts.
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"When triggered by one member state, all member states would convene to coordinate a European response, to deter further escalation and to mitigate the impact," she said of the proposed protocol.
She went on to pledge that the EU would give its "strongest-ever support to Ukraine" over the forthcoming winter, which she said would be the toughest of the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
"Together with our partners, we will provide humanitarian aid and reinforce Ukraine’s supplies of power and heating," she said. "Second, we will strengthen Ukraine’s air defences," she added.
While acknowledging that US Patriot interceptor missiles needed to be delivered urgently, von der Leyen also noted that, "we must also jointly reduce our dependence on a single supplier" by developing with Ukraine "an affordable, modular missile-defence system".
EU to use all tools to cut 'unsustainable' China trade deficit
In her SOTEU address, von der Leyen said the bloc will use every possible means to reduce its "unsustainable" trade deficit trade with China.
Von der Leyen said that the imbalance, with a goods trade deficit of €1 billion ($1.15 billion) a day last year, had reached a tipping point and that Europe was already suffering from the second China shock through deindustrialisation.
EU leaders called on the European Commission in June to produce results from dialogue with China and to ensure the bloc has all the instruments it needed to defend its interests.
European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, leading the talks, said he wanted to achieve tangible results by October.
Von der Leyen said the European Parliament that it was in both sides' interests to work together to find a solution.
"Let me be clear: we will use all the tools at our disposal to rebalance our relationship. Words are good. But deeds are better," she said.
Von der Leyen also highlighted the EU's reliance on China for many critical minerals, notably rare earths.
"We need to urgently procure and build up our reserves," she said, adding the EU would establish a new European Corporation on critical raw materials to help the 27-nation bloc obtain and stockpile what it needed.
Climate insurance alliance
Von der Leyen also promised a new "heatwave plan" after the continent faced a deadly summer with record temperatures.
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The EU will create a "climate insurance alliance" aimed at increasing insurance cover for extreme weather events, she said.
"Today, only around 25% of catastrophe losses in Europe are covered by private insurance. This means that, far too often, national budgets become the insurer of last resort. We need to take action to close this gap," von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
The future of the bloc depends on how it manages climate change and Artificial Intelligence (AI), she noted.
"Our future prosperity and security will greatly depend on how we manage the tipping points of our time: climate change and AI," said the European Commission president as she called for a push for the bloc to help "pace the frontier" of AI development.
Frontier labs to hold talks on tackling AI risks
The EU chief said she will invite the main frontier AI labs to discuss efforts to tackle the risks posed by AI.
Von der Leyen's comments came amid growing worries about the potential danger posed by artificial intelligence.
The dangers were underscored by Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon who resigned and accused both the company and OpenAI of racing toward self-improving superintelligence without acting responsibly. He had previously worked at OpenAI.
"I will invite the main frontier labs for a discussion on how we can support ongoing industry efforts to pace the frontier," Von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.
Anthropic and OpenAI are the leading frontier labs which build the most advanced, powerful and cutting-edge AI models in the world. Some researchers want AI to slow down.
Von der Leyen said landmark EU rules governing the use of AI adopted recently puts Europe in the position to shape global efforts to tackle the risks.
She is also proposing a social media ban for under-15s, saying that platforms have to prove that they are safe for children.
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“I am aware that many perceive the power of Big Tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll back. I disagree,” said the EU executive.
“We do not have to accept addictive features. We do not have to accept children being drawn into ever more extreme content. We do not have to accept that girls have their photos used for AI-generated sexualized images,” she said.
Von der Leyen said that under her proposal “mini accounts” chaperoned by guardians would be granted to kids aged 13-15.
The EU’s 27 member nations will now vote on the proposal, which could spark tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long criticised Europe’s tech regulations.
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(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)