Contest of authority: Von der Leyen's State of the Union speech tackles Europe's readiness for defense
In a significant move, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, announced a new 'drone alliance' with Ukraine, funded by €6bn from the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration loan. This initiative comes amidst increasing attacks against Ukraine by Russia, which has also been reported to have drones entering Polish airspace.
Von der Leyen's 2025 State of the European Union address in Strasbourg emphasised the EU's developing path towards protecting its member states, particularly its eastern flank, as the threat from Russia gets starker and trust in the US security umbrella wanes. In response, she proposed an 'eastern flank watch' initiative to better surveillance of EU Russia-bordered member states.
However, the EU's stance towards Israel remains divided. While von der Leyen pledged to put bilateral support for Israel on hold and proposed sanctions against extremist ministers and violent settlers, as well as a partial suspension of the Association Agreement with Israel on trade-related matters, member states cannot agree on a common stance. Germany and Italy have so far not agreed to EU sanctions or a common stance against Israel, while most other large and smaller EU states support such measures.
The European Commission has also proposed the partial freezing of Israel from its €95.5bn Horizon research funding programme. However, these proposals are unlikely to advance due to a lack of consensus among member states.
The situation in Gaza is worsening, adding to the EU's geopolitical challenges. To address these challenges, von der Leyen emphasised the need for the EU to agree on a common stance with regard to the Middle East to fulfil its ambition of becoming a geopolitical power.
Beyond existing defence initiatives, the EU needs to build genuine preparedness, which requires securing access to raw materials, boosting industrial capacity, ensuring energy redundancy, making budgets more flexible, and procedures more agile. A whole-of-society approach is necessary, with extraordinary powers and sound legal rules that allow EU institutions to act in cases of emergency and respond to any threat type.
The episode underscores a deeper truth: the EU must shoulder greater responsibility for its own defence, both to safeguard its citizens against all types of threats and to shield its economy from the side effects of military vulnerability. This truth is particularly relevant as the EU's fate will not be determined by lofty words in Strasbourg, but by von der Leyen's ability to prove her intentions by standing by the hard choices she makes and following through on the actions they require.
Recently, von der Leyen survived a vote of no confidence in July. However, two more votes of no confidence are being prepared against her, as the centrist, pro-European majority is growing restless and questioning her record. The EU's future under von der Leyen's leadership remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: the challenges facing the EU are significant, and the need for strong, decisive leadership has never been greater.
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