- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
State of the EU address: ‘Putin will fail and Europe will prevail’ 14.09.2022
