At the 2025 Berlin Global Dialogue, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that “the world is changing faster than our policies,” urging Europe to act with greater urgency and cohesion to face global instability. She said Europe must “renew at home” to confront economic slowdown and strategic vulnerabilities while harnessing its “exceptional assets” to secure independence and competitiveness.
Von der Leyen announced a plan to “radically speed up the completion of our Single Market” and simplify regulation, emphasising that “an urgency mindset must drive all of our work.” She unveiled new measures such as a “28th regime for innovative companies” and a “Scaleup Europe Fund” to help start-ups expand across EU borders without 27 separate regulations.
Focus on Defence and Strategic Independence
Addressing global power shifts, von der Leyen highlighted the growing importance of hard power, stating that “hard power is more important than ever in today’s world.” She warned that “imperial ambitions and wars” continue to undermine global stability and announced that the EU will “unlock up to EUR 800 billion in defence spending until 2030.” This investment aims to strengthen Europe’s military capabilities and defence industries under the principle of “peace through strength.”
She also confirmed a new “RESourceEU” initiative to secure critical raw materials and reduce dependency on external powers. “Europe cannot do things the same way anymore,” she said.
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Photo: © Copyright European Union – NA
