- Europe’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine dominated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s annual speech on Wednesday (14 September), but she provided little substance when it came to several important files and pressing issues facing the bloc.
- Von der Leyen also placed a focus on fertilisers, confirming that the European Commission’s proposed solidarity contribution, presented on 9 September in a non-paper listing potential emergency measures to address the challenges in the energy market, can be used to support fertiliser production.
- On the future of energy, there were mentions of increasing renewable energy and ensuring a supply of raw materials for this technology, but von der Leyen failed to go into detail on solving many issues faced by the renewable energy industry.
Von der Leyen’s Ukraine-tinted speech falls short on policy vision
