Von der Leyen: "Europe can no longer be the guardian of the old world order, of a world that has disappeared"

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told a global conference of European ambassadors in Brussels that 'Europe can no longer be the guardian of the old world order, of a world that has disappeared and will not return.'

“The old global order, the one based on an international rules-based system, has disappeared”

El País

She again called on member states for increased military spending.

El País

She urged a thorough review of EU doctrine, institutions and decision-making built for a postwar world of stability and multilateralism.

She has faced criticism for encroaching on member states’ competences in foreign policy.

Von der Leyen explicitly justified the attack launched by Donald Trump and by Israeli prime minister Benjamín Netanyahu on Iran.

She said the aggression lacked a United Nations mandate but argued that one should not mourn "the Iranian regime that has inflicted death and imposed repression on its own people."

El País

She said many Iranians celebrated the death of the ayatollah Jameneí and that some hope the moment will open the way to a free Iran.

She warned that the resulting war in Iran has become a regional conflict with "unforeseen consequences" for energy, finance, trade, transport and population displacement.

Von der Leyen argued that the rules-based international system can no longer be relied on as the only means to defend European interests.

“The old global order, the one based on an international rules-based system, has disappeared”

El País

She said the EU must build "our own European path," find new forms of cooperation with partners, and project power with "greater assertiveness" and pragmatism.

She said she and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Kaja Kallas, are preparing a new European security strategy.

She framed the turmoil in the Middle East as a symptom of a broader problem exemplified by Greenland and Ukraine that demands Europe choose a different destiny rather than cling to outdated habits.