The state of play

In Strasbourg on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen gave the State of the Union address, an annual event in which the president of the EU Commission describes how things are going and how they should go in the future. As well as the usual scattering of platitudes and statements of the staggeringly obvious, this year’s hour-long speech contained a very surprising suggestion, a couple of good ideas, and a futile call for the EU to unify in support of Spain over the Ceuta disaster.

First, the silly parts. Politicians have a gift for uttering near-meaningless statements with tremendous gravitas, as von der Leyen demonstrated once again on Tuesday.

My favourites included the following: “Europe is there for Europeans… [O]nly Europe can provide true sovereignty to Europeans”. Obviously, yes. And: “Ceuta’s border is a European border” - startling news to those MEPs who thought the Spanish territory was in Africa (more on where exactly Ceuta is shortly). And on the hugely divisive topic of the EU’s next seven-year budget: “To be very clear, our budget is about our future” - a stern corrective to all those people who believed that Brussels passes retroactive spending plans.

The surprising suggestion was that Canada become an “associate” member of the EU. This proposal raises interesting questions. For example: Why Canada? Why just Canada? What is an “associate member” and what input would one have in EU affairs? But it’s unlikely they’ll ever need to be answered, because the suggestion was clearly intended as a snub to Donald Trump rather than a serious possibility.

What von der Leyen said about Canada also applies to the US (if not to its current president): “We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world.” Does that mean that once Trump is replaced by a sane man or woman of whom Brussels approves, the US will also be invited to become an informal add-on to the EU?

Among the good ideas were an EU-wide ban on social media for under-13s and tighter controls on AI development. Von der Leyen was right to say that “we do not have to accept addictive features” on toxic social media sites. We don’t have to accept the way AI is heading either. Enough with the prevailing passivity in the face of technological development and deference to tech bosses.

Finally, von der Leyen called for the EU’s 27 members to show “solidarity” with Spain over the Ceuta crisis. Alas, it’s too late for that. The day before she gave her speech, MEPs clashed in a vicious debate about immigration. After speaking of an “invasion” of illegal immigrants, Italy’s centre-right Susanna Ceccardi was asked by a Swedish opponent whether she knew where Ceuta was. Those who listened to von der Leyen’s speech will know the answer: it’s in Europe.