Enemies at the Gates

Listening to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s long and impressive state of the union address on September 10, this American observer was struck by the extraordinary Europe-first tone of the remarks. It is all the more remarkable given von der Leyen’s strong Atlanticist credentials. But her speech reflects current realities and marks a complete departure from the close relations between her cabinet and the White House during her previous mandate. In a less strident way, her tone mirrors some of the America-first rhetoric emanating from Washington.

Henry Kissinger famously asked the number to call for Europe. Von der Leyen delivered her speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in a room with many members convinced that there is now too much Europe and not enough national sovereignty. Against this backdrop, and with occasional interruptions from Euro-skeptic hecklers, she made a powerful case for greater European sovereignty and greater European power in an increasingly insecure and competitive world.

For Existential Threats, Press One…. “Europe is in a fight,” von der Leyen declared in the first line of her speech. It was her central theme from start to finish. She was explicit about the conflict with Russia and the centrality of the war in Ukraine to the security of Europe—a point underscored by the shooting down of Russian drones over Poland some hours earlier. She was also clear about the broader existential fight with aggressive autocratic regimes and the threats to democracy and the rule of law, both globally and in Europe. This theme was accompanied by a clear and implicit message that Europe would likely need to go it alone, without the United States, in confronting these threats.

For Divisive Issues, Press Two…. Von der Leyen addressed some of the most divisive issues head-on, including the war in Gaza and EU policy toward Israel. Her approach was not wildly out of line with the prevailing views in US foreign policy circles, although perhaps not fully in the White House: that Hamas is a terrorist group and an unacceptable political interlocutor; that a two-state solution is essential; and that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and settler extremism on the West bank must be brought to an end. Her proposed package of modest sanctions on the current Israeli government is unlikely to please any side in the increasingly fraught European debate on these issues.

For Competitiveness, Press Three…. The European Commission president produced a long list of initiatives aimed at improving Europe’s competitiveness, clearly—though it was unstated—vis-à-vis the United States. She cited the Draghi and Letta reports and noted Europe’s failure to support a vibrant culture of innovation or to complete the single market. All very aspirational. On the recent and still uncertain tariff negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s administration, she was clearly on the defensive.

A case can be made for a kind of transatlantic convergence in speeches of this kind. The effort to introduce a human element in an austere setting—this time with a teenage kidnap victim from Ukraine and his grandmother and a firefighter from Greece—was reminiscent of a US state of the union address. And on substance, it was all about the many enemies at the gates.