Insight
State of the Union: Seven months into Putin’s war by Camino Mortera-Martinez, 28 September 2022 Ursula von der Leyen has managed to keep the EU together so far. The coming months will test this unity. A war in Europe was not something European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to have in her in-tray when she took office in November 2019. Yet she has proved to be a very capable war-time leader. Putin’s latest invasion of Ukraine on February 24th cemented von der Leyen’s power. That much was clear during her forceful State of the European Union speech – her annual address to the European Parliament – in Strasbourg on September 14th. Unsurprisingly, this year’s speech was heavy on war rhetoric but light on policy details. This makes sense, as von der Leyen is trying to hold the EU together in the face of a difficult winter in which European support for Ukraine may be tested. But it also means that she said little about how the Commission plans to deal with the many crises coming the EU’s way. In May, the CER looked at the state of the Union three months into the war. Many things, like the EU’s energy markets, were in turmoil, but others, like the deadlock over migration policy and the dispute over the rule of law, remained unchanged. Four months later, most of these challenges remain, and many have become even more acute. Energy continues to be the most pressing matter for the EU. Permanent representatives (national governments’ ambassadors to the EU) went on their annual August break after crafting a compromise to reduce gas demand voluntarily by 15 per cent during the coming winter. They came back to work in September to yet another extraordinary meeting, after Russia shut down the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Europe. EU leaders agreed on a revenue cap for low-cost energy generators, a ‘solidarity contribution’ from fossil fuel companies, and measures to help energy companies deal with liquidity problems. In her speech, von der Leyen simply reiterated that the Commission will now put these proposals into effect, together with other interim measures like a suspension of some state aid rules in the energy sector. The EU’s response to the energy crisis has come a long way since the spring. For example, to reduce energy bills, Spain and Portugal had been asking for a reform of the way electricity markets work, which the Commission had thus far opposed, arguing that the current system works well for both consumers
CER INSIGHT: State of the Union: Seven months into Putin’s war 28 September 2022
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