During her annual State of the Union speech, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had a single main message: Europe needs to protect itself against risks that are already here, and build the capacity and partnerships that will make it less dependent in future. In an increasingly hostile world “only Europe can provide true sovereignty” to its citizens, she said.
One of the clearest examples was online safety. Von der Leyen used unusually strong language against technology companies as she announced the EU Kids Act, saying Europe was witnessing a “great capture of our children” by smartphones and social media.
The proposal, due tomorrow (17 September), would ban social media for children under 13. Between 13 and 15, only limited accounts supervised by parents would be allowed, while platforms would face stricter design requirements for older teenagers. Crucially, the Commission wants to reverse the burden of proof: platforms would have to demonstrate that their services are safe for children. “It is we who decide our rules, not Big Tech,” von der Leyen said.
The same desire for protection ran through her economic message. With the EU’s trade deficit with China now around €1 billion a day, von der Leyen declared that the “second China shock” – a repeat of the large influx of Chinese imports that transformed the United States’ industrial strongholds after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 – had already arrived and promised to use all available tools to rebalance the relationship.
At the same time, Europe needs alternatives. A new European Corporation on Critical Raw Materials would help procure and stockpile materials needed for cars, semiconductors, batteries, clean technologies and defence – reducing dependencies that von der Leyen increasingly framed as a security risk.
Security was framed in similar terms. Von der Leyen announced plans for a new European Security Strategy, an emergency protocol for responding collectively to hybrid attacks and a European Security Council bringing together EU countries and close partners. On defence, she also called for more joint European investment in capabilities such as air and missile defence, strategic transport and cyber.
Climate policy followed a similar logic. With Europe warming at twice the global rate, the Commission will identify 100 particularly vulnerable areas and create a Climate Insurance Alliance. Only around a quarter of catastrophe losses in Europe are currently covered by private insurance, leaving governments to absorb much of the remaining cost. A heatwave plan, new water initiative and possible European firefighting fleet are also planned.
Artificial intelligence combined both sides of the message. Von der Leyen called for stronger cooperation with like-minded countries on frontier-model safety, while promising more European computing capacity and new industrial-AI initiatives in health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing and defence and space.
But greater European independence does not mean going it alone. Von der Leyen wants deeper cooperation with countries that share Europe’s interests and values – most strikingly Canada. Building on CETA, the economic and trade deal already in force, Brussels and Ottawa would cooperate more closely on technology, defence, the Arctic, raw materials, AI and economic security.
Von der Leyen even proposed opening the door for Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member,” a status that does not currently exist in the EU treaties.
Protecting children, preparing for climate change, securing raw materials, managing AI and building new alliances: von der Leyen laid out plenty for the Commission to do. In around 70 minutes, she announced enough to occupy it for the coming year – without revealing too much about how many of its biggest ideas will actually work.
