Von der Leyen calls for more realistic, interest-driven EU foreign policy

Europe can "no longer be a custodian for the old-world order" and needs "a more realistic and interest-driven foreign policy," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told EU ambassadors. She said the union "will always defend and uphold the rules-based system" but could no longer rely on it to defend European interests and shelter the continent from threats.

Von der Leyen urged urgent reflection on whether doctrines, institutions and decision making — all designed in a postwar world of stability and multilateralism — have kept pace with the speed of change. She asked whether the system built on consensus and compromise is more a help or a hindrance to the EU's credibility as a geopolitical actor.

The former German defence minister, who pledged to lead a "geopolitical" commission when she took office in 2019, has faced criticism recently over her handling of the Iran war.

Germany, Europe

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