Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Kremlin states a proposal by Ursula von der Leyen ahead of her re-election bid indicates Europe’s ‘militarisation’.
Russia has cautioned that the European Union is expanding more militarised and confrontational as Ursula von der Leyen outlined plans for a new defence union. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is pursuing a second term, said she expected to launch a European Defence Union to deal with cross-border threats over the next five years, beginning with a “European Air Shield and cyber defence”.
Why Does the Kremlin Criticize Ursula von der Leyen’s Defence Proposal?
“We will ensure that these significant projects are open to all and we will use all of the means at our disposal – both regulatory and financial – to ensure they are developed, built and deployed on European soil as quickly as feasible,” she stated in a document setting out her schedule before a European Parliament vote on Thursday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed the proposal demonstrates von der Leyen’s “changing priorities” and the EU’s “military colouring”. “[It] confirms the general perspective of European states to militarisation, escalation of uncertainty, confrontation and dependence on confrontational methods in their foreign policy,” stated Peskov. “Everything is quite obvious here.”
The Kremlin spokesman said that while Russia did not pose a danger to the EU, actions by its member states concerning Ukraine “have excluded any possibility of talk and consideration of Russia’s concerns”. “These are the facts in which we have to live, and this pushes us to configure our foreign policy approaches accordingly,” Peskov stated.
What is Ursula von der Leyen’s Plan for a European Defence Union?
Von der Leyen, who requires 361 votes in the 720-seat European Parliament to remain in office, put security at the heart of her re-election gradient, highlighting the need for a “strong Europe” during a “period of deep anxiety and uncertainty”.
She repeated the EU’s support for Ukraine in its 28-month war with Russia and criticised a recent visit to Moscow by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban – whose government holds the rotating EU presidency – as an “appeasement mission”.
Von der Leyen also expressed she would create a new commissioner to tackle Europe’s housing problem, “strengthen” the EU’s border agency Frontex and battle disinformation. “The union requires its structure dedicated to the fight against manipulation of information and foreign interference,” von der Leyen stated. The ex-German defence minister has led the European Commission since 2019, becoming the first woman to carry the post.
What Challenges Does von der Leyen Face in Parliament Re-election?
She belongs to the largest political group in the Parliament, the conservative European People’s Party, which is in a centrist alliance with the Socialists and Democrats and the liberal Renew Europe groups. Together, the coalition should have the numbers to earn her re-elected, but some legislators from her party have suggested they may not toe the line. Still, her supporters believe she can seal the deal by picking up votes from the Greens and the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists she has held negotiations with. If a bulk of the lawmakers contradict her candidacy, it would leave leaders of the 27-nation bloc running to find a replacement.
