Brussels – The European Union is facing a period of challenges — all significant and all potentially harmful — and it cannot afford to be divided. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a State of the Union address lasting an hour and a half. Still from the very beginning, she warns the chamber about the risks tied to attempts at upheaval. She knows that the specter of new motions of no confidence looms over her, and so she comes to ask for the support of political parties.
“Europe is in a fight,” von der Leyen punctuates, referring to geo-political tensions, trade frictions, and new alliances emerging around the world. “Does Europe have the stomach for this fight? Do we have the unity and the sense of urgency? The political will and the political skill to compromise? Or do we want to just fight between ourselves? To be paralysed by our divisions.”
This is where the key political turning point of a speech that turns into a request for support above all to socialists (S&D), Liberals (Re), and Greens, who have been highly critical of the Commission and its president. “In my eyes, the choice is clear,” von der Leyen said. “So my pitch today is a pitch for unity. Unity between Member States. Unity between EU institutions. Unity between the pro-European democratic forces in this House.”
European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, delivers her State of the Union speech in the European Parliament [Strrasbourg, September 10, 2025]
Von der Leyen turns her State of the Union address into yet another occasion, as has often been the case during this legislature, to ask for the votes of traditional allies. She tries to pull them closer by promising the implementation of the Green Deal, a strategy for housing policies, actions, and sanctions against the ‘extremist’ ministers of the Israeli government for the situation in Gaza, described as “unacceptable,” and a new all-European competitiveness for growth and employment—all measures to win the favour and support of socialists, liberals and greens.
Most importantly, the President of the European Commission plays the security card, leveraging fears and tensions to propose a ‘war cabinet’. “So, yes, Europe must fight. For its place in a world in which many major powers are either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe.” She makes it clear, with one finger pointing at Moscow and another at Beijing. “China flanked by the Leaders of Russia and North Korea,” and in this context, she warns, and “Putin gloating about how Russia-China relations are at an unprecedented high.”
This is where the tone shifts and becomes a wartime speech/ “We are also working to find a way to give a bonus to those who support Ukraine or buy Ukrainian equipment,” she said, without going into detail. And then, “from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea we must invest in the eastern flank,” since “the eastern flank of Europe protects all of Europe.” After addressing the MEPs, von der Leyen spoke to the states, seeking unity that translates into political support to move forward.
She cannot ignore the widespread discontent with the tariff agreement with the United States, which she does not repudiate and which she fully defends, aware of the precise negotiation mandate she received from the governments and showing a sense of responsibility. “Our trading relationship with the US is our most important.
We export over €500 billion worth of goods to the US every year.
Millions of jobs depend on it.
As President of the Commission, I will never gamble with people’s jobs or livelihoods,” she said. And then, returning to the broader context of a present full of challenges and a future fraught with uncertainty, she says, “we have always had to fight for our freedoms.” Von der Leyen calls for continued struggle — and for Europe to remain at the forefront of that fight.
![La presidente della Commissione europea, Ursula von der Leyen, nell'Aula del Parlamento europeo [Strasburgo, 7 luglio 2025]](https://www.eunews.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/vdl-plenary-2-350x250.png)
