Von der Leyen fuels EU discontent after closely-watched Israel visit
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When President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen takes her seat at the table of the European heads of state and government in Brussels on October 26, she will undoubtedly be greeted with the utmost courtesy. The Commission president will also be perfectly affable: In this closed club of men and women who make set the course for the European Union (EU), putting on a good front is a must, even when you've taken a beating.
Von der Leyen was recently severely criticized on several occasions by the member states. She has been accused of overstepping her role by taking initiatives – some of them a misstep, as with the Israel-Hamas conflict – in foreign policy. She has also been criticized for making decisions without consulting member states, like signing the EU-Tunisia agreement on migration. There is concern over how much effort she has put into pleasing Washington when EU and US interests are not always aligned. Plus, her perpetual "squabble" with Charles Michel, the president of the Council, is seen as highly exasperating.
Since taking office at the end of 2019, von der Leyen has made repeated incursions into the realm of European foreign policy, which is the responsibility of the member states, Michel and EU High Representative Josep Borrell. "The difficulties facing the Franco-German duo have left her a space that she is exploiting," said one European diplomat.
'Thoughtless' comments
On Ukraine, the 27 member states, who were relatively united on the subject, did not make it a casus bello. Paris and Berlin may have felt that she went too far in her promises to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open the doors of the EU to him, or to seize Russian assets in Europe. But, after all, as social democrat MEP Raphaël Glucksmann put it, "she succeeded in embodying Europe in a time of war, and that's no mean feat."
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, things are quite different: member states are deeply divided. Every statement made by EU institutions has to be meticulously prepared, something von der Leyen clearly forgot during her visit to Israel on October 13, of which she informed no one. The 27 member states were left shocked by her assertion that the Jewish state had a right to defend itself after Hamas's attack, without reminding Israel that it must respect international law and protect the civilian population of Gaza.
In failing to say this, von der Leyen did not relay the position adopted by European foreign ministers on October 10. Worse, she suggested to those who do not always grasp the subtleties of Brussels that Europe's voice is pro-Israel. She also sent a disastrous message to the Global South, countries that refuse to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Jerusalem could exempt itself from the international law to which the West wants to subject Moscow.
Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg, all sympathetic to Palestine, lectured the EU Commission chief harshly. Her remarks in Israel were "thoughtless and even reckless," said Irish President Michael D. Higgins on October 16. The other member states, including Germany, which has enshrined its duty to stand by Israel in its constitution, were exasperated by this "fault," which forced the EU to show its divisions and confused its message. "We are all trying, and it is difficult, to remain as united as possible. And we are witnessing a pathetic parade in the Middle East of political leaders from institutions that nobody knows," said an exasperated European diplomat.
A case of ego
"I don't understand what the president of the Commission has to do with Europe's foreign policy, which is not her responsibility," said Macronist MEP Nathalie Loiseau on X (formerly Twitter) on October 14. "It is a blunder. She let herself get carried away by emotion. She is German, she was Angela Merkel's defense minister, she often went to Israel in that capacity," one source said. One senior European civil servant, who was less sympathetic, pointed out that von der Leyen's management style is as solitary as it is vertical. "She also lacks instinct," they said, "having locked herself up in her windowless apartment on the 13th floor of the Commission," where she has set up a studio apartment.
It's also a case of ego. On learning that President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola had been invited to Israel by the Knesset, von der Leyen invited herself onto the trip. Metsola had already been the first to visit Kyiv after Russia's invasion. Merkel's former minister does not like to leave the limelight to others.
Council President Michel, who is just as concerned about his own image, and with whom von der Leyen has an appalling relationship, knows a thing or two about this. On October 11, in the photo von der Leyen posted on social media after a minute's silence in front of the European Parliament, attended side-by-side by the presidents of the three EU institutions, she cropped the image to exclude the Belgian Council president. "In this institutional war, Michel and von der Leyen have gone mad," said a close Macron associate.
However unfortunate, these mishaps will not prevent von der Leyen from seeking a second term of office after the European elections in June 2024. She has since corrected course, and her track record – including the post-Covid-19 European recovery plan, the joint purchasing of vaccines, financial and military support for Ukraine, the Green Deal, and digital regulation – is still her strongest asset. But "she has to be careful. The member states [who are to appoint her] have sent her signals," said a European diplomat. At this stage, "we don't have a better candidate, but we are thinking about alternatives," said one of her colleagues. The message is clear.
Transatlantic charm offensive
More than the Israeli-Palestinian issue, it is von der Leyen's assertive Transatlanticism that worries Europeans, mostly, of course, France, which has cultivated its difference since Charles de Gaulle. But it's not only France: Italy and even Germany, so committed to its ties with Washington, fear that she will do a poor job of defending their economic interests vis-à-vis the United States. "With Biden, you get the impression that the Americans are friendly. In reality, it's always 'America first', and the American agenda on industry, technology or trade remains very brutal," said one European diplomat.
Biden has one obsession: getting Europe on board in his battle against China. He has found an ally with von der Leyen, who, on several occasions, seemed ready to sacrifice the interests of Europe's industry on this battleground. As recently as October 20, at the US-Europe summit in Washington, member states had to rein her in to prevent the signing of an unbalanced agreement that was unfavorable to the EU. "Von der Leyen was prepared to do anything to get a deal," said one source.
Washington is in no hurry to comply with European demands to amend the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides massive subsidies for the US green industry and has raised fears of a wave of industry relocations across the Atlantic. On March 10, von der Leyen had gone to the White House to bargain for the EU. Not only did she obtain nothing, but she also declared herself in favor – once again without sounding out the Americans – of introducing "export controls" and "investment controls" on European companies, which would affect trade flow to China.
Despite recurring reproaches from the 27 member states, von der Leyen persisted in her transatlantic charm campaign, maintaining doubt in the minds of those who, despite her denials, imagined she might want to become head of NATO at the end of the year. On March 30, she delivered a speech particularly critical of Beijing, which was appreciated in Washington, but much less so in Berlin, Paris and Rome. "Without any mandate, she defined the EU's foreign policy towards Beijing," a European diplomat said, still upset.
In June, von der Leyen presented a strategy to strengthen European economic security in which she unsuccessfully attempted to revive plans outlined in Washington three months earlier. In July, the Commission recruited US economist Fiona Scott-Morton to a strategic post, before backing down under pressure from France. In September, von der Leyen announced the opening of an investigation into subsidies for Chinese electric vehicles, which was certainly in response to a long-standing French demand but was also interpreted as a pledge to Washington – and the decision strongly displeased Germany. "There are 27 European leaders, and she is invited to the Council table, but she is not at their level," said a European diplomat.
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