Putin and Netanyhau will be laughing at EU after von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech

by · EUobserver

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg on 16 September (Source: EU Commission )

EU and the World

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By Andrew Rettman,

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be laughing at the EU after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech in the European Parliament on Wednesday (16 September).

Her answer to spiralling Russian aggression was … one new strategy document and two new sets of meetings.

Her answer to Israel’s killing spree in Gaza and the West Bank was … to call it “unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, threats to Europe posed by US president Donald Trump were also mentioned, but without naming him once.

Von der Leyen listed Russia’s latest sabotage attacks against EU states and invited a Ukrainian girl, Sasha Paskal, an amputee, to Strasbourg to listen to her.

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EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg on 16 September (Source: EU Commission )

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver’s foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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