Ursula von der Leyen: EU has lost former economic advantages

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated at a business forum in Paris that the European Union has lost the key economic advantages that previously underpinned its prosperity. She noted that the former economic model relied on cheap energy imports from Russia, open global trade, increased access to the Chinese market, strategic protection from the United States, and Western technological leadership.

Von der Leyen remarked, “All those obvious advantages have already disappeared,” highlighting that Europe faces a significantly altered economic and geopolitical landscape. She announced that the European Commission will work to help the European business sector adapt to these new conditions.

While the Commission President did not explicitly detail the impact of EU sanctions on Russian energy, Russian officials have attributed the EU's current energy crisis to the decision to move away from Russian gas. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, recently assessed that the EU's energy situation is a direct result of abandoning Russian energy sources.