von der Leyen says the EU must demonstrate strength more decisively

Investing.com – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that the EU can no longer rely solely on a rules-based system to defend its interests and must be prepared to demonstrate its strength more decisively.

Speaking at the EU ambassadors’ meeting, von der Leyen stated that the EU must determine whether its institutions and systems are helping or hindering its credibility as a geopolitical actor.

“We will always defend and uphold the rules-based system we have built together with our allies, but we can no longer see it as the only way to defend our interests, nor assume that its rules can protect us from the complex threats we face,” von der Leyen said.

She added that the EU urgently needs to reflect on whether its principles, institutions, and decision-making processes are keeping pace with change.

Von der Leyen questioned whether the system, designed in a post-war era of stability and multilateralism, is truly enhancing or hindering the EU’s credibility as a geopolitical actor.

The European Commission President stated that the system and its good-faith consensus and compromise efforts need to be scrutinized.

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