Russia's war on Ukraine, Donald Trump and the poor health of the European economy will define the start of Ursula von der Leyen's second presidency.
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00:00Making Europe more competitive, this will be one of the major challenges facing the
00:11newly appointed members of the European Commission.
00:17But when it comes to trade, the EU finds itself facing the dual threat of increased US tariffs
00:23and illegal Chinese subsidies.
00:27We have to deal with two trading partners, the United States and China, which are really
00:32practicing some unfair methods.
00:38Mr. Trump will set some tariffs.
00:40We have to sharpen our weapons against that and have some defense measures on track.
00:47On China, we see some kind of hegemony regarding industrial policy with a lot of illegal subsidies.
00:55We have to react to this.
00:59After almost three years of fighting, the war in Ukraine has been escalating.
01:05Following the addition of thousands of North Korean soldiers in the Russian flanks, the
01:09US and the UK have given their green light to Kiev to use long-range missiles.
01:15Member states support Kiev and the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU will be an
01:20important issue for the new Commission.
01:24A war will come to an end when both sides realize that they simply cannot achieve their
01:30goals with military means.
01:32And that's why it's so important to continue to support Ukraine militarily with whatever
01:37we have, whatever it takes, that Mr. Putin realizes this brutal war of aggression is
01:44a failure.
01:46We as European Union will certainly be involved in any kind of peace negotiation.
01:52Under the growing influence of the far right in the European Parliament, the Commission
01:56could also tighten its stance on immigration, which could create tensions.
02:01We have seen von der Leyen doing steps in the wrong direction, addressing member states
02:09to innovative solutions, meaning externalization of the external borders of the European Union
02:16and the management of migration and asylum seekers, which is not only unacceptable for
02:21the S&D Group, but also inconsistent with the legislation that we have put in place.
02:28With Germany facing a recession for the second year in a row and France's debt rising, the
02:33issue of the new EU multi-annual budget may be even more heated than usual.