Von der Leyen pitches European Security Council in response to Trump and Putin
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said she would propose a new security forum for EU and like-minded leaders in response to escalating Russian attacks and fraying transatlantic relations.
“For a long time, we have discussed a leaders’ format focused on the security of our continent with partners like Ukraine, U.K., Norway, Canada and others involved,” she said in her annual State of the European Union address.
“This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play — this is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality,” she said. “The urgency is clear.”
The proposal underscores growing fears that Europe is unable to deal with fast proliferating airspace violations, cyberattacks and sabotage attempts amid tensions linked to Russia’s full-scale in Ukraine, with NATO reluctant to escalate its response amid fears of setting off a war with Russia.
NATO has also been mired in feuding with the U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to annex Greenland earlier this year and is recalibrating U.S. forces in Europe, fueling doubts over Washington’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance.
“This is a Europe that stands up for each other,” von der Leyen said, “like when we stood up for Greenland when threatened.”
First floated in the 1980s, various versions of a European Security Council have since been proposed and rejected. Resurfacing after an EU split over the 2003 Iraq war, the idea was given fresh impetus in 2017 by former EU executive chief Jean-Claude Juncker and French President Emmanuel Macron, but that failed thanks to U.K. reluctance.
