The new EU Commission should give the all-clear and make great progress in defense and the economy

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday that Europe had “no time to waste” in strengthening its defense and competitiveness as European lawmakers prepared to give their new executive the green light to get to work.

Addressing parliamentarians in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said her team was ready to get to work immediately to address the bloc’s growing challenges – most notably the Ukraine war “raging on Europe’s borders.”

She called for a massive increase in defense spending, saying: “There is no time to waste. And we have to be as ambitious as the threats are serious.”

From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the war in the Middle East, the growing economic threat from China and the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House, the European Union has its hands full.

“Our freedom and sovereignty depend more than ever on our economic strength. Our security depends on our ability to compete, innovate and produce,” von der Leyen told MPs.

Ensuring a quick handover at the top of the 27-nation bloc after European elections in June is seen as crucial.

The new team was due to formally begin its term on Sunday after several of the main factions in Parliament reached an agreement to support it.

Right-wing, centrist and center-left groups agreed last week to vote for a second term on the new 27-member full commission led by the 66-year-old German von der Leyen.

This came after all candidates put forward by member states were individually approved – for the first time in decades – but only after a period of political horse-trading.

Parliament has previously used the process to flex its muscles and reject some candidates.

Weapons and tariffs

Top leaders in the new Commission are talking about the priorities for the next five years.

Estonia’s former prime minister Kaja Kallas is set to take over as the bloc’s top diplomat, while Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius will take on a new role leading the EU’s rearmament efforts.

Both are aggressive critics of Russia.

The EU must quickly increase defense spending to Russia’s level, von der Leyen said on Wednesday, noting that “something is wrong” with Moscow spending up to 9% of GDP on defense while the EU spends just 1.9% .

She has previously said the bloc needs to invest $526 billion in defense over the next decade if it wants to keep up with Russia and China.

This has become even more urgent since Donald Trump was elected as the next US president this month amid fears he would weaken US commitment to European security and support for Ukraine.

Likewise, trade policy – under Slovakia’s Maros Sefcovic, a veteran Brussels agent – has taken high priority as the bloc grapples with a tariff-loving U.S. president who could push the EU to buy more American products or impose higher tariffs to pay .

France’s Stéphane Sejourne will take over industrial strategy at a time when Europe’s manufacturing sector is struggling with competition from China, high energy costs and weak investment.

The former French foreign minister must work hand in hand with Spain’s Teresa Ribera, the new competition and green transition chief, to balance economic growth with climate ambitions.

Practical boss

However, von der Leyen will be front and center.

The former German defense minister has “significantly strengthened her power and profile as a political actor” over the last five years, said Luigi Scazzieri from the think tank Center for European Reform.

She has weeded out commissioners with whom she disagreed, such as France’s Thierry Breton, and benefited from a political bias that has led countries to fill her new team with conservative colleagues.

In her first term, she has also pushed the boundaries of what the EU can do and what is expected of it – something observers say could be useful in the future.

Under her leadership, the Commission led efforts to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, use shared loans to finance the post-pandemic economic recovery, ship weapons to Ukraine and wean Europe off Russian gas.

The new Commission faces “more threats,” said Ylva Johansson, the outgoing Home Affairs Commissioner, pointing out that the geopolitical environment has changed dramatically since 2019.

But the EU executive is now “much more capable of acting than it was five years ago,” she said.

“This is also due to Ursula von der Leyen’s personality – because she is very hands-on.”