site.btaVon der Leyen: Europe Must Fight for Peace and Its Future

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday that Europe is fighting for peace, freedom, and control over its own future, during her State of the Union address at the first plenary session of the new political season.

She noted that Europeans are not used to hearing such language, as the European Union was created as a peace project, but the world today is relentless. According to von der Leyen, people feel the ground shifting beneath them, life becoming more difficult, and the impact of the global crisis with rising living costs. She added that people are troubled by the endless spiral of events they see in the news from the devastation in Gaza to the ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine. “We simply cannot wait for this storm to pass,” von der Leyen said.

“Europe must fight. For its place in a world in which many major powers are either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe. A world of imperial ambitions and imperial wars. A world where dependencies are ruthlessly weaponized. And it is for all of these reasons that a new Europe must emerge,” she told MEPs in Strasbourg.

Von der Leyen recalled that last week Russia launched its largest drone and ballistic missile attack since the start of the war. She called for increased pressure on Russia and further sanctions. So far, the EU has adopted 18 packages of sanctions against Russia and is preparing a nineteenth. She said the EU has provided nearly EUR 170 billion in military and financial aid to Ukraine to date.

"This war needs to end with a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, because Ukraine's freedom is Europe's freedom," von der Leyen said.