European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday Europe needed to assert independence with greater defense spending and by bringing Ukraine into the EU.
“The next great era, our next great unifying project must come from an independent Europe,” she said in the German city of Aachen in her acceptance speech of the Charlemagne Prize for European unification. “To build an independent Europe, we must throw off our shackles,” she added.
In a nod to growing European concerns about overreliance on the U.S., von der Leyen cast independence as the next phase in a row of historic European projects such as securing peace after World War II, shaping a common market and currency, and reuniting Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989.
She identified four central tasks to bring about independence: Securing peace by increasing defense spending; strengthening innovation and competitiveness to stimulate growth; expanding the bloc in what she referred to as “a historic reunification”; and renewing and strengthening democracy to protect member countries from internal and external threats.
“That we are now enabling funding of up to €800 billion for defense would have been impossible just a few years ago,” von der Leyen said.
“We are doing this because we want to defend peace with all our might … A new international order will emerge before the end of this decade. If we do not want to simply accept the consequences of this for Europe and the world, then we must shape this new order.”
A greater, united Europe would give the continent more weight in the world and help reduce dependencies, von der Leyen said, referring to the accession of Ukraine, the Western Balkans, Moldova, and “hopefully” Georgia as a central task.
“I am deeply convinced that history is calling on us now. Just like back in 1989, when the winds of change swept through Europe,” she continued.
The Commission chief received the Charlemagne award for “her services to the unity of the member states, in the containment of the pandemic, for the unity of the Union’s determination to defend itself against Russia — and for the impetus towards the Green Deal,” the award’s board of directors said.
The prize is named after the Frankish king Charlemagne, who united much of Western and Central Europe under the Holy Roman Empire in the 9th century.
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