In Wednesday's State of the European Union address, Ursula von der Leyen displayed fighting spirit on a number of subjects, urging the bloc to fight back against against "ultranationalists" and Eurosceptics, both of whom are growing in popularity across the continent. She highlighted the importance of protecting European and democratic values.
"Do we let our democracies be undermined by the proxies and puppets of authoritarians," von der Leyen asked. "They despise our values, and they want to shatter our European unity. So let's not only fight back against that, let's fight together for our European idea."
The EU's trade talks with China must deliver results, von der Leyen said, warning the bloc would "use all tools at our disposal to rebalance our relationship".
"Our trade deficit with China is now one billion euros a day. It has reached a tipping point. Some say the second China shock is looming. But it's already here," she said.
Von der Leyen said the EU would step up efforts to cut its "dangerous dependencies" on China for many critical raw materials. She said Europe would establish a "new European Corporation on critical raw materials" to help obtain and stockpile what the continent needs.
The Union must also speed up, and implement projects in the Union's strategic interest more quickly. Procedures must be simplified, with the Commission making efforts in this area already. The president urged member states to engage in assisting with the simplification.
Von der Leyen said that Europe's future depended on how it manages the twin challenges of climate change and artificial intelligence.
"There can be no repeat of this summer. This is why we will also soon present a European Heatwave Plan," the European Commission president told lawmakers in the annual State of the European Union address.
"We need better early warning systems and better health preparedness. We need urban adaptation and cooling. And we need to support the most vulnerable," she said.
Multiple back-to-back summer heatwaves fuelled by climate change caused more than 30,000 excess deaths across Europe as well as widespread drought. More than 1,000 wildfires torched some 540,000 hectares of land across the EU since mid-June -- more than twice the size of Luxembourg -- forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, particularly in Spain and France. Temperature records across the continent were smashed, triggering dangerous blazes even in normally cool, wet areas such as Belgium and Scotland.
The plan will identify the 100 most vulnerable regions in order to better protect them.
Von der Leyen raised the prospect Wednesday of Canada becoming the 27-nation bloc's first "associate member", as she pitched closer cooperation on tech, defence and energy to Canadian leader Mark Carney.
Von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that, as democracies face a "fracture in the international rules-based system", Brussels and Ottawa needed to pull closer together. Since launching the CETA free-trade agreement that abolished almost all tariffs, trade in goods and services has been boosted by more than 80 percent since 2016.
The EU must become stronger in terms of defence and be capable of reacting quickly and efficiently to any aggressions. There needs to be a consensus on how to react to hybrid threats, the president said. The Commission proposes creating clear procedures to identify the steps to take if a member state is targeted by a hybrid attack.
The EU must also defend itself against the power of large technology companies, particularly in the area of social media. Here, the Commission President spoke of cognitive warfare.
Above all, children must be protected from technologies designed to capture and hold their attention, as well as from all the other dangers that lurk on these platforms, such as bullying and harassment. That is why social media should be completely banned for children under 13. Between 13 and 15 years old, there should be so-called mini-accounts, managed by parents and limited to a maximum of one hour of consumption per day.
The Commission President also announced that she wants to consult with artificial intelligence creators on how to slow down its development.
The EU chief said the Union plans to convene the world’s largest AI labs to discuss “how we can support ongoing industry efforts to pace the frontier,” amid growing concerns about the risks posed by increasingly autonomous AI systems.
Von der Leyen warned that “the dangers of self-improving models are becoming ever more apparent,” pointing to “incidents of AI agents escaping their environment or inserting malicious code” as “a mere glimpse” of the potential risks.
She said the EU would work with partners including Canada and the United Kingdom, arguing that Europe’s AI Act puts the bloc “in the position to shape global efforts” on AI regulation. At the same time, she stressed that Europe cannot afford to fall behind the United States and China: “Europe will need its own capabilities, in particular, to protect our national security. We need to stay in the race.”
Von der Leyen insisted that the EU had never been simultaneously as weak and as strong as it is right now. Although the Union faces extraordinary challenges and threats, it also benefits from major resources in order to tackle these issues.
