There are many signs that European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen’s star is fading, according to the German newspaper Bild. Von der Leyen has practically become the face of the European Union in recent years, and has frequently been called “Europe’s most powerful woman.” Yet, as the bloc finds itself more and more marginalized by the actions of national governments in response to new developments, she seems to have less influence over events. Moreover, she is being increasingly ignored by her colleagues, claims Bild.
This has been highlighted most recently by the EU being shut out of the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Russia to end the Russo-Ukrainian War. Although Brussels has been completely pushed aside on this issue thus far, several of Europe’s national leaders have instead come to the fore in order to offer proposals regarding the way forward. This was made abundantly clear during the EU’s summit on a new massive aid package for the war-torn nation which was held last week.
One such sign that the winds are shifting was that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not attend the summit in person. Although Zelensky made an appearance by video, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his Ukrainian counterpart would instead come to Paris on Thursday of this week in order to discuss potential military commitments from Europe. Along with Zelensky’s high-profile visit to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London earlier this month, this reinforces the notion that Kyiv now sees better opportunities in London and Paris than in Brussels.
Also at the summit, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke on behalf of several EU member states when he demanded that the bloc appoint a special representative to deal with Ukrainian issues. Neither von der Leyen nor Kaja Kallas, who is the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, were mentioned for this role.
This snub was not lost on Kallas, who, according to Bild, lashed out at Sanchez by asking, “What am I here for?”
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"You die for your country, you don't die for a European Economic Community!"@JPGarraud, head of France's National Rally in the European Parliament, slams European leaders for calling for a new EU army.
He warns that, based on Emmanuel Macron's recent remarks, if it… pic.twitter.com/ObwjnNE2C5
Kallas’ proposal to develop a new €40 billion military aid package for Ukraine was likewise criticized by several member states – not just Hungary this time – and now seems unlikely to be approved.
The essence of the problem is that the EU has no military power of its own. Although all EU member states have acknowledged that the time has come to increase defense preparedness, the only way this can be achieved is through the national governments. Thus, by calling for greater defense spending, Brussels is prioritizing an issue that it lacks the means to address, and is inadvertently highlighting its own weaknesses.
The EU’s increasingly apparent impotence is not limited to defense issues, however. The bloc has also so far failed to develop an effective response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe. It is rather Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who has stepped up and is attempting to make use of her personal relationship with Donald Trump in an attempt to avert a trade war. Brussels, for its part, seems at a loss on how to develop a way of dealing with the new administration in Washington.
No less a person than Manfred Weber, the leader of the powerful European People’s Party (EPP) in the EU parliament, implicitly suggested that Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas may not be up to the task of dealing with the new problems that Europe is now facing. He recently suggested on German television that the EU’s citizens should be given the opportunity to elect a figure who will represent the entire EU in matters of foreign policy. Weber suggested that such a representative may be needed in order to decide the issue of whether Europe “will have a face, a voice, strength, and effectiveness.”
Apparently, von der Leyen’s face is no longer identical with Europe’s agenda, at least in Weber’s eyes.
Only time will tell if the Brussels bureaucrats can figure out a way of reasserting their importance on the international stage. Failing that, we may be approaching the moment when Europe’s national governments will take the initiative once again and reassert their own sovereignty – and perhaps Europe’s as well.
