“A lot is at stake” in EU-US relations, Ursula von der Leyen said the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The European Union will have a “pragmatic” attitude towards the new administration of Donald Trump but “always” stand ready to defend its strategic interests against any unjustified measure, Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday in a speech that set the tone for how Brussels intends to engage with Washington in the next four years.
During his campaign, Trump threatened to impose across-the-board tariffs on foreign goods and heavily revise aid for Ukraine, setting alarm bells ringing across the bloc. The Republican president has however tamped down both threats since coming into office.
“A lot is at stake for both sides,” the president of the European Commission said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Our first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests, and be ready to negotiate. We will be pragmatic, but we will always stand by our principles. To protect our interests and uphold our values – that is the European way,” she added, referring to the trade tools the Commission has at its disposal to counteract tariffs and quotas.
Von der Leyen, who advocates strong transatlantic ties, described the US as of one the EU’s “closest partners” with deeply interlinked economic ties, from investment and employment to chemical production and digital services, something that, in her view, should help foster cooperation rather than confrontation.
“No other economies in the world are as integrated as we are,” she said.
Asked by the host if the EU could afford to support Ukraine in case of an American withdrawal, von der Leyen said the bloc would continue doing so “without any question”.
“Whatever happens next, for us it’s important that Ukraine stays an independent country and that it is Ukraine that decides on its own territory,” she answered.
The speech marked von der Leyen’s first major intervention since falling ill with severe pneumonia in early January. The disease forced the Commission to cancel all her external appointments and briefly delegate to Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera.
Her absence from Brussels prompted a debate about a power vacuum at a delicate time for Europe, with a transition under way at the White House. On Tuesday, von der Leyen sought to reassert herself as a leading voice in the political conversation, even if she did not provide any hard-hitting lines against Trump’s nationalist “America First” agenda, which is directly at odds with the EU’s long-standing commitment to multilateralism.
She did not mention Trump by name.
The most critical remark was made obliquely, when she defended the Paris climate deal that the American president has, once again, renounced. “The Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope of all humanity,” she said. “Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming.”
Since Trump’s victory in November, the Commission has been exercising extreme caution to avoid antagonising the new administration. The executive offered lukewarm reactions to Trump’s military threats against Greenland, which belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark, and Elon Musk’s attempts to interfere in European elections, earning a rebuke from the French government, which demanded swifter regulatory action.
Von der Leyen’s team is seeking early contacts with their counterparts in Washington, although no date for meetings has yet been announced.
A ‘harsh’ world
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, which every January gathers heads of government with business leaders and entrepreneurs, von der Leyen used the stage to decry the fractures undermining global trade, such as supply chain shocks, energy weaponisation and sabotage against critical infrastructure.
ADVERTISEMENTVon der Leyen warned the rising use of sanctions, export controls and tariffs – tools that her Commission has notably employed in recent years – to defend national security risked fuelling a “global race to the bottom” that could undo decades of prosperity.
“The cooperative world order we imagined 25 years ago has not turned into reality. Instead, we have entered a new era of harsh geostrategic competition,” she said.
“The world’s major economies are vying for access to raw materials, new technologies and global trade routes. From AI to clean tech, from quantum to space, from the Arctic to the South-China Sea. The race is on.”
The multiple challenges are particularly daunting for the EU, which has plunged into a state of economic stagnation, loss of competitiveness and demographic change that has become an intense headache for the 27 member states.
ADVERTISEMENTVon der Leyen has promised to put the economy at the core of her second mandate and fulfil the recommendations laid out by Mario Draghi in his landmark report. Bringing down energy prices, unlocking investment across the Single Market and cutting down red tape for small-sized companies will be among the key actions of her new Commission, she said on Tuesday as a preview.
Trade deals will be given a boost, she added, touting the recently concluded deals with Mercosur and Mexico. She intends to travel to India to upgrade commercial ties.
“In the last 25 years, Europe has relied on the rising tide of global trade to drive its growth. It has relied on cheap energy from Russia. And Europe has too often outsourced its own security. But those days are gone,” she said.
“To sustain our growth in the next quarter of the century, Europe must shift gears.”
ADVERTISEMENTVon der Leyen saved some space for China, a country with which her Commission has repeatedly clashed over Beijing’s close ties with Moscow, industrial subsidies, espionage, sabotage, cyber-attacks, human rights violations and tension in the Taiwan Strait.
Her presidency has been credited for shifting the EU’s China policy towards a more assertive and hard-boiled approach, which angered Beijing but pleased Washington.
In her speech, von der Leyen spoke of a “second China shock” triggered by “state-sponsored over-capacity” flooding global markets with low-cost exports. This complaint, shared by developed and developing nations alike, has been met with a raft of trade restrictions to control the volume of China-made products.
Von der Leyen said her executive would continue responding to any unfair practices, as it did with electric vehicles, but extended her hand to work “constructively” with Beijing to expand economic ties “where possible”.
ADVERTISEMENT“The rules of engagement between global powers are changing. We should not take anything for granted. And while some in Europe may not like this new reality, we are ready to deal with it,” she said as she concluded her intervention in Davos.
“Our values do not change. But to defend these values in a changing world, we must change the way we act. We must look for new opportunities wherever they arise. This is the moment to engage beyond blocs and taboos. And Europe is ready for change.”
