Ursula von der Leyen seeks closer economic ties across EU as new Trump era begins
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European Commission president tells Davos that the bloc can no longer rely on ‘rising tide of global trade’. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for a new era of EU integration to sustain growth in the face of a global economy “fracturing along new lines” as Donald Trump enters the White House.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos while the US president prepares to press ahead with his protectionist agenda, the head of the EU executive said the bloc could no longer rely on the approach that has sustained it this century. “In the last 25 years, Europe has relied on the rising tide of global trade to drive its growth. It has relied on cheap energy from Russia, and Europe has too often outsourced its security. But those days are gone,” von der Leyen told the summit in the Swiss resort.
She did not mention Trump by name, but her prescription for closer collaboration appeared to be in part a response to the new administration’s nationalistic approach. She said today’s world was “still nearly as connected as ever, but it has also started fracturing along new lines”, adding: “The cooperative world order we imagined 25 years ago has not turned into reality. Instead we have entered a new era of harsh geostrategic competition … We will need to work together to avoid a global race to the bottom.”.
