Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union speech draws criticism

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union speech has drawn criticism from political analysts and lawmakers. The address focused heavily on defense, security, and climate change, emphasizing that the European Union must increase its military and political resilience to reduce reliance on the United States, particularly in response to Russia and China.

Critics, including Vlaams Belang MEP Gerolf Annemans, argued the speech failed to address the declining European economy, industrial exodus, and high inflation. Annemans characterized the speech as “disastrous,” accusing the Commission of pursuing further centralization and a massive budget increase of nearly 2,000 billion euros rather than addressing energy costs and regulatory burdens like the Green Deal and ETS2 emission policies.

Von der Leyen’s vision includes transforming the EU from a purely economic market into a unified entity capable of independent action in technology and strategic resources. The speech also touched upon the potential accession of Canada to the EU.