Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
On 20 January 2026, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shared a special address at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in Switzerland.
'Geopolitical shocks can - and must - be an opportunity for Europe. From security to the economy. From defence to democracy. Europe is the right place to invest.'
'The world may be very different today. But I believe the lesson is very much the same. That geopolitical shocks can – and must – serve as an opportunity for Europe. In my view, the seismic change we are going through today is an opportunity, in fact a necessity to build a new form of European independence. This need is neither new nor a reaction to recent events. It has been a structural imperative for far longer. So when I used this term – European independence – around a year ago, I was surprised at the sceptical reactions. But less than one year on, there is now a real consensus around this. The sheer speed and almost unthinkable scale of the change have driven this – but the underlying imperative is still the same.'
Read Commission President's full speech here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_26_150
Chapters
00:00 Introduction President Ursula von der Leyen
02:40 Welcome Greetings
02:45 A world More Fractured than Ever
04:33 A European Independence
06:22 EU-Mercosur
09:39 EU Inc a New European company structure
11:38 The Savings and Investments Union
14:22 Business, Capital and Energy
16:33 Security. A Just and Lasting Peace for Ukraine
18:53 Greenland and Security of the Arctic Region
20:22 United States Tariffs, Allyship
Follow us on:
-X: twitter.com/EU_Commission
-Instagram: instagram.com/europeancommission
-Facebook: facebook.com/EuropeanCommission
-LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/european-commission
-Medium: medium.com/@EuropeanCommission
Check our website: https://commission.europa.eu/
On 20 January 2026, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shared a special address at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in Switzerland.
'Geopolitical shocks can - and must - be an opportunity for Europe. From security to the economy. From defence to democracy. Europe is the right place to invest.'
'The world may be very different today. But I believe the lesson is very much the same. That geopolitical shocks can – and must – serve as an opportunity for Europe. In my view, the seismic change we are going through today is an opportunity, in fact a necessity to build a new form of European independence. This need is neither new nor a reaction to recent events. It has been a structural imperative for far longer. So when I used this term – European independence – around a year ago, I was surprised at the sceptical reactions. But less than one year on, there is now a real consensus around this. The sheer speed and almost unthinkable scale of the change have driven this – but the underlying imperative is still the same.'
Read Commission President's full speech here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_26_150
Chapters
00:00 Introduction President Ursula von der Leyen
02:40 Welcome Greetings
02:45 A world More Fractured than Ever
04:33 A European Independence
06:22 EU-Mercosur
09:39 EU Inc a New European company structure
11:38 The Savings and Investments Union
14:22 Business, Capital and Energy
16:33 Security. A Just and Lasting Peace for Ukraine
18:53 Greenland and Security of the Arctic Region
20:22 United States Tariffs, Allyship
Follow us on:
-X: twitter.com/EU_Commission
-Instagram: instagram.com/europeancommission
-Facebook: facebook.com/EuropeanCommission
-LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/european-commission
-Medium: medium.com/@EuropeanCommission
Check our website: https://commission.europa.eu/
