The European Commission president promised to toughen efforts against Russia and hold Israel to account over its war in Gaza, in an annual speech that focused on defense and security.
Hours after Poland shot down what Warsaw said were Russian drones, Ursula von der Leyen pledged increased EU military spending and suggested using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defense.
In a wide-ranging State of the European Union address, she also said she would partially suspend trade with Israel, insisted the bloc “must not be naive” on migration, and vowed tougher efforts on privacy and Big Tech. Yet there was little on competitiveness, ostensibly an EU priority after a major report last year criticized the bloc on the issue.