Ursula von der Leyen Says EU Prepares for 'Mother of All Deals’ With India at WEF 2026

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At the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she will travel to India next week.

She described the upcoming engagement as being on the “cusp of the mother of all deals,” signaling a potentially historic agreement between the European Union and India.

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Transcript

00:00Of course, yours.

00:15President Brande, dear Borger, thank you very much for the warm welcome.

00:20Your Majesties, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

00:24indeed, it is now 56 years since the first meeting here in Davos,

00:31and the idea of the founder, Klaus Schwab, was to create a platform

00:37to discuss the issues and the ideas of the day.

00:42Of course, the world has transformed completely since 1971.

00:49But the original idea of Davos has remained, as we just have heard,

00:54in the speeches.

00:55So I was delighted that you have gone back to your roots

01:00with this year's theme,

01:02a spirit of dialogue.

01:04Because this spirit is all the more important

01:07in a world that is more fractured and more fractious than ever.

01:141971

01:15was the year of the so-called Nixon shock.

01:19And the decision to delink the U.S. dollar from gold.

01:25In an instant, the foundations of the Bretton Woods system

01:30and the entire global economic order set up after the war

01:35effectively collapsed.

01:38But it also had two major effects.

01:43It inadvertently created the conditions for what would become a truly global order.

01:51And it provided a sharp lesson for Europe and on the need

01:55to strengthen its economic and political power.

01:59It was a warning to reduce our dependencies,

02:03in this case,

02:05on a foreign currency.

02:08The world may be very different today,

02:11without any question.

02:12But I believe

02:13the lesson

02:14is very much the same.

02:17That geopolitical shocks

02:19can and must

02:21serve as an opportunity

02:23for Europe.

02:24And in my view,

02:26the seismic change

02:27we are going through today

02:29is an opportunity,

02:32in fact,

02:33a necessity

02:33to build a new form

02:36of European independence.

02:39And this need is neither new

02:41nor a reaction to recent events.

02:45It has been a structural imperative

02:48for far longer.

02:49So when I used this term

02:53European independence

02:56around a year ago,

02:58I was surprised

02:59at the skeptical reactions.

03:01But less than one year on,

03:05there is now

03:05a real consensus around this.

03:09The sheer speed

03:10and almost unthinkable scale

03:12of the change

03:13have driven this,

03:15but the underlying imperative

03:17is still the same.

03:19The good news is

03:22we acted immediately.

03:25Whether on energy

03:26or raw materials,

03:29defense

03:30or digital,

03:32we're moving fast.

03:34But the truth is also

03:36that we will only be able

03:38to capitalize on this opportunity

03:40if we recognize

03:43that this change

03:45is permanent.

03:46of course,

03:48nostalgia is part

03:49of our human story,

03:50but nostalgia

03:51will not bring back

03:52the old order.

03:55And playing for time

03:56and hoping for things

03:58to revert soon

03:59will not fix

04:01the structural dependencies

04:03we have.

04:03So my point is

04:06if this change

04:08is permanent,

04:10then Europe

04:11must change

04:12permanently too.

04:14It is time

04:16to seize this opportunity

04:17and build

04:18a new

04:19independent Europe.

04:21And ladies and gentlemen,

04:25this new Europe

04:27is already emerging.

04:29On Saturday,

04:31I was in Asunción,

04:32in Paraguay,

04:34to sign the EU-Marcosur

04:36trade agreement.

04:38It was a breakthrough

04:40after 25 years

04:43of negotiations.

04:45And with it,

04:47the European Union

04:48and Latin America

04:49have created

04:50the largest

04:51free trade zone

04:52in the world,

04:54a market worth

04:55over 20%

04:57of global GDP,

05:0031 countries

05:01with over

05:03700 million consumers

05:05aligned

05:07with the Paris Agreement.

05:08So this agreement

05:11sends a powerful

05:12message to the world

05:13that we are choosing

05:16fair trade

05:17over tariffs,

05:19partnership

05:20over isolation,

05:24sustainability

05:24over exploitation,

05:28and that we are

05:29serious about

05:31de-risking our economies

05:33and diversifying

05:34our supply chains.

05:36And that will not

05:37stop in

05:38Latin America.

05:40Last year,

05:41we reached new

05:42agreements with

05:43Mexico,

05:44Indonesia,

05:45and Switzerland,

05:46our host country.

05:48We're working

05:49on a new

05:49free trade agreement

05:51with Australia.

05:53We are also

05:54advancing with

05:55the Philippines,

05:56Thailand,

05:57Malaysia,

05:57the United Arab

05:58Emirates,

05:59and more.

06:02And right after

06:03Davos,

06:04the next weekend,

06:06I will travel

06:07to India.

06:09There's still

06:10work to do,

06:11but we are

06:12on the cusp

06:13of a historic

06:14trade agreement.

06:16Indeed,

06:17some call it

06:17the mother

06:18of all deals.

06:20One that would

06:21create a market

06:22of two billion

06:25people,

06:26accounting for

06:27almost a quarter

06:28of global GDP.

06:30And crucially,

06:32that would provide

06:33a first-mover

06:34advantage for Europe,

06:35with one of

06:37the world's

06:37fastest-growing

06:39and most

06:39dynamic continents.

06:42Europe wants

06:44to do business

06:45with the gross

06:45centers of today

06:47and the economic

06:48powerhouses of

06:49this century.

06:50From Latin America

06:51to the Indo-Pacific

06:53and far beyond,

06:55Europe will

06:55always choose

06:57the world

06:58and the world

06:59is ready

07:00to choose

07:01Europe.

07:09And ladies

07:10and gentlemen,

07:11this reality

07:12also reflects

07:13the fact

07:13that Europe

07:15has all

07:16the assets

07:17its needs

07:17to attract

07:18investment.

07:20The savings,

07:22the skills,

07:24the innovation

07:25with our

07:26AI factories

07:27and gigafactories

07:28and the

07:29applications

07:30that are necessary

07:31AI first.

07:34What we need

07:35now is

07:36to mobilize

07:36collectively

07:37these assets

07:38to their full

07:39potential

07:39and to focus

07:42on the essential.

07:43So focal point

07:45number one

07:46is to create

07:47a conducive

07:48and predictable

07:50regulatory

07:52environment.

07:54We live in an age

07:55where capital

07:56and data

07:56can cross

07:57Europe in a second

07:58and business

08:00must be able

08:01to move

08:01just as freely.

08:04But as things

08:05stand,

08:06too many companies

08:07have to look

08:08abroad

08:08to grow

08:09and scale up,

08:11partly because

08:12they face

08:13the new set

08:13of rules

08:14every time

08:15they expand

08:16into a new

08:18member state.

08:19So while on paper

08:21the market

08:22is of 450 million

08:25Europeans

08:26open to them,

08:28it is far more

08:29complicated

08:29in reality.

08:31And that acts

08:33as a handbrake

08:34on the growth

08:34and profit

08:35potential

08:35of companies.

08:36So this

08:38is why

08:39we need

08:39a new

08:39approach.

08:41We will soon

08:42put forward

08:43our 28th

08:44regime.

08:45The ultimate

08:46aim is

08:47to create

08:48a new

08:48truly

08:49European

08:50company

08:51structure.

08:52We call it

08:53EU

08:54Inc.

08:55with a single

08:57and simple

08:57set of rules

08:59that will

09:00apply

09:00C

09:01and

09:02to

09:04the

09:04end

09:05of the

09:06year.

09:07So

09:08you

09:08can't

09:09see you

09:09as

09:10as

09:12as

09:12you

09:12as

09:14You

Ursula von der Leyen Says EU Prepares for 'Mother of All Deals’ With India at WEF 2026 | APT

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