Von der Leyen: 'Putin will fail and Europe will prevail'

The first statement made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her annual State of the European Union address on Wednesday was not verbal, but visual. Clad in bright blue and yellow alongside other senior politicians, she showed support for Ukraine's battle with Russia, making clear even before the speech began that the war would top the agenda.

With Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska in Strasbourg for the occasion, von der Leyen pledged Europe's "unshakeable" commitment to Kyiv, sending a defiant message to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

"Putin will fail and Europe will prevail," the chief of the EU executive branch said. "I want to make it very clear, the sanctions are here to stay," von der Leyen stressed, listing off the damage so far inflicted on Russia by punitive measures: a financial sector "on life support," the departure of almost 1,000 international firms and car production down 75% from last year.

If Zelenska was hoping to hear promises of new sanctions or weapons deliveries, she may have been disappointed. But von der Leyen did announce a new €100 million ($100 million) package to help reconstruct Ukraine's devastated schools and plans to incorporate the country into the EU single market, for example, in the bloc's free roaming area for mobile phone use.

In a sign of the times, this year's address was more focused than von der Leyen's previous performances, entering on the major topics of the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis.

In the past, the former German defense minister has been criticized for adopting a "shopping list" approach in the annual speech, which takes stock of the previous year and sets out priorities for the year to come.

Planning for winter

Her strong words for Putin neatly segued into the issue at the forefront of many Europeans' minds heading into the coldest months — the energy crisis.

"Gas prices have risen by more than 10 times compared to before the pandemic," she noted. "Making ends meet is becoming a source of anxiety for millions of businesses and households."

The speech was a chance for von der Leyen to tout the Commission's plans to get Europe through the winter — and fend off potential social unrest over high energy bills: a revenue cap on prices for high profit-making energy companies, a "crisis contribution" imposed on fossil fuel firms and measures to reduce energy demand.

It's a change in tone for a center-right politician from Germany's Christian Democratic Union and the European People's Party group.

EU affairs analyst Sophie Pornschlegel from the Centre for European Policy welcomed it. "It shows that she's smart enough to not stick with ideological beliefs when they do not fit reality anymore," she told DW. "It is clearly a sign of the rapidly shifting environment we are experiencing."

'We should have listened'

Von der Leyen also combined a victory lap for the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February with a slice of humble pie on previous years of appeasing Putin and the failure to divest from fossil fuels.

"A whole continent has risen in solidarity," she said, pointing to the integration of Ukrainian refugees and the billions of euros of assistance offered. "Europeans neither hid nor hesitated. They found the courage to do the right thing."

More humbly, she later added, in a nod to Russian dissidents, and a number of central and eastern European countries in and outside the EU: "One lesson from this war is we should have listened to those who know Putin."

The reflective note continued: failing to wean off fossil fuels in the 20th century had been "wrong, not just for the climate but also for our public finances and our independence. And we are still paying for this today," she said. "Only a few visionaries," for example Denmark, had seen the writing on the wall, von der Leyen said.

In response, disgruntled Green party politicians were quick to point out this had been their position for decades. Von der Leyen had effectively acknowledged that the Greens "were right the whole time," tweeted German Member of the European Parliament Niklas Nienass, "I hope that means she will listen to us more in future."

Admitting mistakes can be a classy touch for politicians, according to analyst Pornschlegel.

"The 'error culture' in politics is abysmal," she said. It "means that rather than trying to correct errors, politicians spend more time trying to cover them up — which is counterproductive and harmful," she said.

Marking Europe's 'watershed moment'

However, unlike previous State of the European Union addresses, von der Leyen didn't pull any truly major announcements out of her sleeve. Instead, the focus was mainly on managing ongoing crises.

Iratxe Garcia Perez, a Spanish EU lawmaker with the center-left Socialists & Democrats group, responded that the European Parliament had "heard fancy words … but the social dimension was neglected."

Manon Aubry, a leftist French EU parliamentarian, came armed with energy bills from concerned consumers to underscore the cost of living crisis. Von der Leyen retorted that the letters should be sent to Moscow.

Overall, Pornschlegel gave von der Leyen good marks. The Commission President had "made clear that Europe is going through a watershed moment" that necessitated change in foreign policy, fiscal rules and energy planning.

"I think this was a good speech in which von der Leyen found the right tone, used less buzzwords and set the right priorities," she said.

Edited by: Kristen Allen