00:00Let's get more on this EU State of the Union address. I'm joined by independent political commentator Alistair Jones.
00:06Alistair, it's interesting what von der Leyen said, speaking of an openly hostile world.
00:11For you, was there a dramatically different tone from previous year's addresses?
00:17Hi, Sally. I think from previous addresses, very much the case.
00:22And in many respects, von der Leyen has actually summarized the global situation.
00:27So we have the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We have America attacking Iran, but also making claims against Greenland and
00:39other parts of the world as well.
00:40So in these sort of tumultuous times in many respects, I think she's trying to give a little wake up
00:47call to some of the member states who have possibly been a little complacent about how the EU collectively should
00:54respond.
00:54The problem is, though, it's 27 member states. She's got to get all 27 in agreement, and that's a lot
01:00like herding cats.
01:02She also might have some trouble around getting Canada as an associate EU member.
01:08This is unprecedented. It's not completely clear what it means.
01:12And as Owen was explaining, not all EU members have signed the existing free trade deal with Canada.
01:18Do you think this is motivated more by politics than trade?
01:22I think it's a mixture of the two. I mean, this free trade agreement that was signed way back nine
01:27years ago, but hasn't been ratified in all member states, has enabled Canada to realign much of its regulation with
01:35what the EU currently does.
01:37So it's already harmonising with the EU rather than the EU opening things up to Canada.
01:43But going beyond that, it does look a bit like politics.
01:46I mean, in Van der Leyen's speech, there was a couple of barbed comments aimed indirectly at Donald Trump, not
01:52that he'd necessarily noticed them because they were a bit too subtle.
01:54But they were there to say, look, we're about building friendship, we're about harmonising, we're about coming together, rather than
02:02being a little bit belligerent, as Trump sometimes has been towards Canada and towards Greenland and the EU.
02:09When she spoke about China, she mentioned that the bloc's trade deficit with China was at a tipping point.
02:15She's addressed this issue before.
02:17Do you see it as politically significant that she raised it in her State of the Union address?
02:22I think it is quite significant.
02:25China is a hugely important global player.
02:28And we have a situation in the EU where there is a need or a want to do more trade
02:35with China, but to try to get it a bit more two-way.
02:39So it's about exploring what the EU can do to export to China, but at the same time also trying
02:45to cut back a little bit upon their dependence upon China.
02:49And there is a fear in some quarters in areas such as, for example, electric cars, that China is becoming
02:55the dominant player and the EU is being left behind.
02:59So, again, it's yet another wake-up call for member states to actually think about how we go forward.
03:06On Ukraine, she said this is likely to be the toughest winter yet.
03:10She also said unwavering support for Ukraine.
03:13We know this is a polarizing issue, though, if we look into the different EU member states.
03:18What do you see happening in the coming year?
03:21I see the polarization being significantly reduced with the elections in Hungary, for example.
03:27So it is much more a case of that the EU is collectively going to be working together.
03:33What the EU has set up, there's a security action for Europe, or safe as it was, and the EU
03:38has got about 150 billion euros of money it can lend out to member states.
03:43Not all member states have taken up, if you like, the quota of money available.
03:46So Italy, for example, has only taken about 60%.
03:49And what von der Leyen is suggesting is that that money that's not being used by the Italians is used,
03:56therefore, with other member states and Ukraine to develop defense technologies for Ukraine, but also from which the EU will
04:03develop.
04:03So, on the one hand, it's another big budget issue.
04:07But on the other hand, it's money that's already been earmarked for spending on defense, just simply being reallocated.
04:13So in this respect, a lot of the member states are going to go along with that, because they can
04:17see potentially more monies for their defense industries, and making sure that they are, in effect, economically efficient.
04:24Thank you so much, independent political commentator.
04:27Alistair Jones there.
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