Category Archives: Ursula von der Leyen

UK to accelerate military planning to support Ukraine, No 10 says

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Intensive talks to take place next week on detail and structure of any British deployments if ceasefire deal reached

The UK is to “accelerate the pace and scale” of its military planning to be ready to support Ukraine, with No 10 saying all options, including troops on the ground, are possible.

Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said thousands of troops would be needed to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and agreement to end the war with Russia, whether by “sea, on land or in the air”.

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‘Nothing is off the table’ on EU defence funding, says Ursula von der Leyen

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Commission president says ‘something fundamental’ has shifted and democracy and rule of law are under threat

“Nothing is off the table” when it comes to raising money for defence, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said, as she warned European values such as democracy and the rule of law were under threat in a increasingly “transactional” world.

Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, the head of the EU executive told reporters there was a new sense of urgency in the geopolitical sphere and that “something fundamental” had shifted since she began her second term in office on 1 December, nearly 100 days ago.

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Britain’s biggest unions call for much closer UK-EU ties amid ‘volatile’ global economy

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Exclusive: union umbrella body calls for new cooperation agreement ahead of Keir Starmer’s reset talks with Brussels

The UK should forge much closer ties with Europe amid an increasingly “volatile and unpredictable” global economy, Britain’s biggest trade unions will argue as they push for new workers’ rights across the continent.

In its first major intervention on Europe in five years, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) will call for a “much-needed” closer relationship with the EU, in a joint statement with European counterparts.

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‘Watershed moment’: EU leaders agree plan for huge rise in defence spending

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Leaders endorse von der Leyen proposal but show of unity over Ukraine is marred by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán

European leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels have agreed on a massive increase to defence spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after Donald Trump halted US military aid and intelligence sharing.

But the show of unity was marred by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, failing to endorse an EU statement on Ukraine pushing back against Trump’s Russia-friendly negotiating stance.

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Canada, Mexico and EU criticise Trump’s metal tariffs amid fears of trade war

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Ursula von der Leyen says tariffs ‘will not go unanswered’ as Justin Trudeau says Canadians will ‘stand up if we need to’

Canada, Mexico and the EU have sharply criticised Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US, amid mounting fears of a global trade war.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday she “deeply regretted” the US president’s move, announced late on Monday, adding: “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered.”

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Fishing rights will not derail EU-UK security pact, says European Council president

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With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’

The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.

The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.

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Wolves to lose protection, as EU lowers bar for shooting wildlife

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Downgrading species’ protection status for political gain puts decades of conservation efforts at risk, says WWF

Europe’s wolves will lose their “strict protection” status, alarming conservationists who fear for the survival of an animal brought back from the brink of local extinction.

A committee charged with saving wildlife took the wolf’s protection status down a notch on Tuesday after members voted through a proposal from the European Union that lowers the bar for shooting a wolf.

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European parliament reaches deal on approving von der Leyen’s top team

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European Commission should take office on 1 December after centre-right EPP and Socialists forge compromise

European parliament leaders have reached a deal to approve Ursula von der Leyen’s top team, paving the way for the new European Commission to take office on 1 December.

Leaders of the centre-right European People’s party (EPP), the Socialists and the centrist Renew group – who between them have 56% of the parliament’s 720 seats – forged a compromise on Wednesday intended to ensure that von der Leyen’s nominees would be approved in a vote next week.

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Leaders urge stronger action to defend Europe after Trump’s re-election

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EPC talks in Budapest hear calls for unity on continent as former US president’s return to White House brings uncertainty

European leaders have called for stronger action to defend their continent and support Ukraine, in a show of unity after Donald Trump won re-election to the White House for a second term that is likely to prove a major challenge for the bloc.

Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU’s 27 heads of state and government were joined on Thursday by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community including Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Moldova’s president wins western praise for election triumph

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Maia Sandu’s victory amid claims of Russian interference boosts EU hopes and deals setback to Kremlin

Europe’s most powerful leaders have congratulated Moldova’s pro-western president, Maia Sandu, after she won a second term, cementing the country’s EU aspirations and dealing a setback to the Kremlin.

With nearly 98% of the vote counted in the second round of the presidential elections on Sunday, Sandu had 54% of the vote, ahead of Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Kremlin-friendly political newcomer, backed by the pro-Russia party of Socialists.

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Why immigration is back on the European Union’s agenda

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The new mood to tighten laws is driven in large part by the success of far-right parties, in power in seven countries

EU leaders met in Brussels today with migration at the top of the agenda. Here we examine why that has happened – and what the European Commission, as well as national capitals, might do about it.

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EU considers offshore centres for deportees as it hardens on migration

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Idea of ‘return hubs’ gains traction after mainstream EU politicians were unnerved by rise of far right

The EU has opened the door to the untested idea of “return hubs” – offshore centres for people deported from the bloc – at a summit dominated by plans for a tougher migration policy.

The idea of the offshore processing of asylum claims or vaguely defined “return hubs” in non-EU countries has gained traction in recent weeks, after large gains for the far right in European elections in June unnerved mainstream leaders across the continent.

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EU’s weak or distracted governments make unity of purpose hard to achieve

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Leaders can only spend limited political capital on Euro initiatives while weighed down by domestic troubles

It has become a wry joke in Brussels that the most stable country in the EU is Italy, once infamous for its succession of short-lived governments.

France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz have been humbled by punishing electoral defeats. Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, presides over a minority government in a country riven by division after a controversial amnesty bill. In Poland, Donald Tusk enjoys a much stronger position, but grapples with an unwieldy coalition and an opposition-allied president.

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Von der Leyen to ask EU leaders to explore using ‘return hubs’ for migrants

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European Commission president cites Italy-Albania deal as possible model for reducing irregular arrivals to Europe

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for an exploration of “return hubs” outside the EU in a letter to the bloc’s national leaders on irregular migration, citing a deal between Italy and Albania as a possible model.

EU leaders are to meet on Thursday and Friday for a summit on migration as the commission has said it will propose new measures.

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European audit of democracy standards too positive, says human rights watchdog

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European Commission report ‘completely ineffective as an enforcement tool’, according to civil liberties organisation

The European Commission’s exhaustive annual audit of democratic standards across the bloc is overly positive and ultimately ineffective because it is not tied to any kind of enforcement mechanism, a leading European civil liberties network has said.

The yearly rule of law reports were launched five years ago and are presented by the commission as a key weapon in its armoury against democratic backsliding, including corruption and attacks on independent media and judiciary, across the union.

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Former EU environment chief hits out at plans to delay anti-deforestation law

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Credibility ‘damaged’ by proposed 12-month delay, which followed lobbying from governments and firms around the world

A former top environment official has said the EU’s credibility on its climate commitments has been damaged by plans for a one-year delay to a law to combat deforestation that followed intense lobbying from companies and governments around the world.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, a Lithuanian MEP who was the environment commissioner until mid-July, said postponing the deforestation regulation would be “a step backward in the fight against climate change”.

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Starmer vows to turn page on UK’s relationship with the EU

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PM promises ‘constructive’ relations, despite resisting talks with the bloc on a proposed youth mobility scheme

Keir Starmer has vowed to turn the page on the UK’s relationship with the EU, despite differences with Brussels over proposals for a European youth mobility scheme.

The prime minister said: “Of course, there will be challenges” in resetting relations but insisted he was “turning the page on the old way of doing these negotiations” in favour of a more “constructive” approach.

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New relationship with EU possible but will not be easy, Keir Starmer says

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PM hopes to work more closely on defence, borders and trade with EU as he sets meeting with von der Leyen

Keir Starmer has said a new relationship with the European Union will not be easy “but is possible” before a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen next week, as he set out defence, borders and trade as areas where he hopes for improvement.

The prime minister spoke of his hopes for a reset and did not rule out accepting an EU proposal for greater youth mobility – including easier travel, study and work for under 30s.

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Equality ‘downgrade’ in European Commission dismays rights groups

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Ursula von der Leyen criticised for merging equality commissioner role into brief including crisis management

More than 50 rights organisations from across Europe have expressed their “shock and dismay” at Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to do away with the standalone EU position of equality commissioner, describing it as a “downgrading” of the fight against discrimination.

Von der Leyen presented her lineup for the new commission in Brussels earlier this month. Her 27 commissioner designates – senior EU officials who hold positions akin to government ministers – included Hadja Lahbib, currently Belgium’s foreign minister, who was tasked with a portfolio that spans preparedness and crisis management as well as equality.

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Von der Leyen tightens grip on EU but trouble looms | Jennifer Rankin

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Despite cementing control, the EU commission’s president faces a daunting second term amid the rise of the far right

Ursula von der Leyen was leaving nothing to chance. At a private meeting with members of the European parliament in Strasbourg last Tuesday, she chose not to reveal who would get what job in her incoming European Commission, due to take office at the end of the year.

Then immediately afterwards, during a brisk 21-minute press conference, she announced every single name, leaving MEPs fuming. “That’s not how it should be done,” said one.

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