- il y a 12 minutes
Débat autour du discours d'Ursula von der Leyen sur The Ring
Après l'allocution d'Ursula von der Leyen, le débat : les eurodéputés Li Andersson et Lukas Mandl décortiquent le discours de la présidente de la Commission européenne dans une édition spéciale de The Ring.
LIRE L’ARTICLE : http://fr.euronews.com/2026/09/22/debat-autour-du-discours-dursula-von-der-leyen-sur-the-ring
Abonnez-vous à notre chaine. Euronews est disponible sur Dailymotion en 12 langues
Après l'allocution d'Ursula von der Leyen, le débat : les eurodéputés Li Andersson et Lukas Mandl décortiquent le discours de la présidente de la Commission européenne dans une édition spéciale de The Ring.
LIRE L’ARTICLE : http://fr.euronews.com/2026/09/22/debat-autour-du-discours-dursula-von-der-leyen-sur-the-ring
Abonnez-vous à notre chaine. Euronews est disponible sur Dailymotion en 12 langues
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NewsTranscription
00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30...and the biggest events on the EU's annual political calendar.
00:33Let's take a look at Europe's challenges and the EU Commission President's answers.
00:41Europe is facing a world of war, geopolitical rivalry and economic pressure.
00:46And the European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen has set out her answer.
00:51A stronger, more independent Europe that can stand on its own feet.
00:55From Ukraine and European defence to migration, China, AI and the future of Europe's economy,
01:02her State of the Union address has laid out an ambitious agenda
01:05that also includes making Canada an associate EU member.
01:09But how much of this can actually be delivered?
01:12And what will it be for Europe's citizens?
01:15What is von der Leyen's vision for the continent?
01:17Her biggest promises and the political battles that lie ahead?
01:23A lot to unpack here for our contenders.
01:27And here they are.
01:29Lee Andersen, a Finnish MEP from the Left Group.
01:32The former Finnish Minister of Education,
01:34she is a member of the Delegation for Relations with the United States
01:38and chairs the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs in the European Parliament.
01:42She says while von der Leyen is worried over climate heating,
01:46the Commission is deliberately slowing the pace in cutting emissions.
01:50The EU is moving in the wrong direction regarding its climate policies
01:54and we cannot only focus on adaptation.
01:56The number one concern of Europeans at the moment is the cost of living crisis.
02:01We need more ambition to tackle higher rents, energy costs and strengthen working conditions.
02:07Lukas Mandl, an Austrian MEP from the European People's Party.
02:11In the European Parliament, he sits in the Committees on Development,
02:15Legal Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
02:20Regarding the political direction of Ursula von der Leyen's Commission, he says,
02:24Leadership means doing the right things.
02:27Management means doing things right.
02:29The President is slowly closing the gap towards leadership.
02:35So, let me welcome to the ring Lee Andersson and Lukas Mandl.
02:39Great to have you here. Thanks for coming.
02:42Now, the aim of the ring is to offer our viewers a glimpse at European Parliament debates,
02:47so you should feel right at home.
02:50Are you ready?
02:51Yes.
02:52Ready when you are.
02:53All right. Now, I like this.
02:55Was this, the speech by Ursula von der Leyen, a vision for Europe or a shopping list of promises?
03:03Lee, I want to start with you.
03:05I think this was more of a shopping list, actually.
03:07I don't agree with Ursula von der Leyen on all her policies,
03:10but I think she has had stronger speeches than this one.
03:12So, I did not really see or hear the big vision for Europe.
03:17I think she went through a lot of initiatives.
03:19Many of them were actually not new.
03:21I would say that the biggest surprises was in the area of defense cooperation,
03:26the Article 4 for the European Union,
03:28and, of course, also this new initiative for Canada.
03:30But otherwise, I also missed more on the climate ambition and the cost of living crisis.
03:35Okay. Lukas, was this a great speech or did she play it safe?
03:38Your question was whether it was visionary.
03:40I think I always advocated for more vision, more leadership.
03:44There is still room for improvement, but different to Lee Andersson,
03:49I think there were weaker speeches in the past than this one.
03:51So, this speech was an improvement, as I said, from management,
03:55which was always good with Ursula von der Leyen,
03:56a good manager towards leadership, which is actually expected from a commission's president.
04:01What, above all, should Europeans remember of this speech in the future?
04:07I think this speech will be remembered by the fact
04:11that we had the Prime Minister of Canada in the room listening,
04:15and she did not once mention the U.S. during the entire speech.
04:19So, I think, in a way, it was a signal of how Europe is trying to position itself
04:23in this new geopolitical situation.
04:25And I do also hope that Ursula will take some inspiration from the Prime Minister of Canada,
04:30because I think Canada, in a way, has been stronger and more clear
04:33in where they stand and also standing against certain policies
04:37and attempts to push down from Donald Trump.
04:41So, Mark Carney was in the room, Donald Trump was not,
04:44but he might have been the elephant in the room.
04:49She didn't mention him.
04:51Was this because she didn't want to get into this?
04:54Well, I agree with Leanderson that these are two points that will be remembered.
05:00Mark Carney in the room, and actually, also the matter of fact
05:04that the U.S. is our strongest ally on the planet still,
05:07even under this U.S. administration, which causes a lot of struggle,
05:10was not mentioned.
05:11But, positively speaking, I mean, despite these factors
05:15that are due to the trouble the world is in,
05:17the security dimension, the economic dimension,
05:21will absolutely remain remembered, I would say.
05:25The Security Council for Europe is an excellent idea.
05:29When it comes to the economy, the investment union,
05:31which is extremely urgently needed.
05:34We have seven times smaller growth than the U.S.
05:37We have 12 times smaller growth than China,
05:40and we have had that for every year, annually, since the pandemic.
05:44You mentioned the economic problem.
05:47One big thing is, and I go back to Trump,
05:50is, of course, the tariff situation.
05:52No word on this.
05:54Why?
05:56Well, as I said, I think it's also her way of making a very clear standpoint.
06:01The fact that she did not mention the U.S.,
06:03not the tariffs, not anything else.
06:05Talked about her own priorities.
06:06But since Mark Carney was in the room,
06:09we know that Canada has had a much, I would say,
06:12like stronger policy against the U.S. administration
06:14when it comes to defending their own interests,
06:16against Trump's tariff threats.
06:19So maybe that was not an issue she wanted to touch upon for this reason.
06:22She knows that the agreement between the EU and the Trump administration
06:26got a lot of criticism, also within the European Parliament,
06:29for not being favorable enough for Europe.
06:32So on the defense and security part, yes, there were initiatives.
06:35On technology, there was not.
06:37There was not anything in this speech that would mean, like,
06:41increasing our digital sovereignty or how she's going to take that project further.
06:45And my biggest criticism is, even though Ursula rightly mentioned
06:50that we paid 90 billion euros more for importing the same amount of fossil energy
06:56after the Strait of Hormuz closed,
06:58what her commission is doing at the moment is actually weakening
07:03the European climate policies, the emissions trading system,
07:07which are built to ensure that we get rid of this fossil energy dependency,
07:12which is extremely expensive for our economies, for businesses and for customers.
07:17This global political powerhouse, does Europe have the political will for this and the money?
07:25Absolutely. I mean, this is the strength of Europe.
07:27We have the political will more than any other part of the world
07:29when it comes to the environment, which we very much care for.
07:32No other part of the world would be so committed to tackling the crisis of climate change.
07:38No other part of the world had to be so committed to get rid of Russian gas, for example,
07:44after the attack of Putin-Russia against Ukraine
07:46and with hybrid means and measures against all of us.
07:49I highly appreciate that Lee Anderson, my colleague in the left group,
07:52is standing with Ukraine, not with Russia like others do with the left group of the European Parliament.
07:57This is absolutely appreciable.
08:00And Europe is still economically strong.
08:02We were in decline.
08:03We have slower economy and smaller growth rates since the pandemic annually,
08:08as I have mentioned before.
08:09But we still have the chance we can take,
08:12but we only take the chance if we make investments possible.
08:15And then everything is possible, including overcoming the energy prices peak,
08:20which is absolutely a problem for the economy, too.
08:22and including tackling the environmental problem.
08:25But the problem is, if you look at the climate policies, for example,
08:29even though the EU has been a global leader when it comes to setting ambitious climate targets,
08:35when we look at our energy system,
08:37we actually see that of advanced economies,
08:40Europe is one that imports actually the most of its energy.
08:43So we have a high energy dependency rate,
08:46especially if you compare it to China or the US, for example.
08:50And during the last years,
08:52even after we have cut dependency on Russian fossil fuels,
08:55which is the right thing to do,
08:57we are using more money to import fossil energy
09:00than what we are using for clean energy in the European Union.
09:03And this makes no sense, as was already said,
09:08no sense from the point of view of our economies
09:09or from protecting people against the price shocks,
09:13which we, of course, also should be one of our core priorities
09:16in a situation where a lot of Europeans are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
09:21Lucas, your comment.
09:22Europeans are struggling with the cost of living crisis
09:24and European businesses are struggling with the energy prices.
09:27This is why it's not the wrong thing to do.
09:30It's the right thing to do, of course,
09:31to do what's necessary to have the energy we need today for today,
09:35the energy for tomorrow we will need tomorrow.
09:37At the same time, we have to develop sustainable energy sources
09:41and decrease our dependencies, which is absolutely right.
09:45But the one thing goes together with the other.
09:47We can stop the economy for a year or two or even longer
09:50and then restart because then Europe will be destroyed.
09:53So we have to do both at the same time.
09:54All right, let me stop you right here.
09:57We can go on.
09:59We're just getting warmed up, as you've seen.
10:01Now it's time for gloves off.
10:08Now, we want viewers to get a real flavor of the European Parliament chamber
10:12where members ask each other questions.
10:15So let's get started.
10:16And, Lucas, you begin.
10:18Lee Andersson, I already said I highly appreciate your stance
10:22when it comes to defending ourselves against the Putin-Russian threat.
10:27I have also mentioned the economy.
10:29So my question is, do you support a stronger capital market union,
10:33a savings and investments union, as the president has outlined,
10:35or do you have any other strategy to overcome the economic crisis?
10:39So it depends on what we will do and what she will propose.
10:43Because I, for example, do not support proposals that would mean deregulation,
10:50for example, of the banking sector or of the financial sector.
10:53Because even though 2008 may seem like a long time ago,
10:58I think we should have learned some important lesson from that financial crisis,
11:01also when it comes to regulating the financial markets and the banks.
11:05So whatever is done, I think it should not be done in a way
11:10where we kind of forget the important lessons we should have learned then,
11:13because at some point we will have a new bubble in the financial markets
11:17and we will be faced with the same kind of problems
11:19unless we make sure that we have sufficient rules in place.
11:24When it comes to the economy at large,
11:26one reason that I am focusing a lot of energy
11:29is that the fact that Europe is so fossil fuel dependent
11:32and imports a lot of energy, it really is a problem for our competitiveness.
11:37So we've seen countries that have managed to invest a lot in renewables,
11:41such as my own country, Finland.
11:42It has also kept electricity prices down
11:46for companies and for customers.
11:48So there's so much to win by doing more
11:52in reducing the fossil fuel dependency.
11:55It's a win for the environment, of course.
11:57It's a win for the economy.
11:59But it's also a win from the social point of view,
12:01because energy prices and gas, specifically natural gas,
12:07was one of the main reasons for the inflation
12:10after the 2022 energy crisis, for example.
12:12And I'm afraid we're going to see a similar situation this winter.
12:16Okay, clear answer.
12:17And now your question to your opponent.
12:20So I feel like I talk a lot about energy, as you heard.
12:24I think one of our main priorities should be to reduce fossil fuel dependency.
12:30This summer, the Commission proposed to weaken the emission trading system
12:35of the European Union, meaning that we would slower down the pace
12:39of cutting emissions, and also hand out free fossil fuel allowances,
12:44meaning financial support to businesses that use fossil energy longer.
12:49Many businesses in Finland are super critical of this.
12:53And the question?
12:54They have invested in decarbonization.
12:55They don't want this to change.
12:57Your group, EPP, has demanded to weaken the ETS system.
13:02How is that compatible with making good decisions for companies and economies?
13:09That's connected, even, because the best decisions for economies
13:13is allowing economies and businesses to do their business.
13:18And we have the situation, as I have mentioned before,
13:21that Europe is not an island.
13:22Europe is dependent on other parts of the world.
13:24We reduce dependencies of various kinds, especially the critical ones.
13:27But if others have much lower energy prices,
13:31we cannot allow for our businesses to have extra costs only created politically.
13:35And this is why we have to reduce fossil fuels.
13:38I totally agree with that.
13:39But at the same time, from day to day, we need our businesses to win.
13:44Also, you care for the social welfare system.
13:46I care for the social welfare system.
13:48Ronald Reagan has once stated, he was president of the United States,
13:51a good one, by the way, and he said the best social program is a job.
13:55And who creates jobs?
13:56It's businesses, it's the economy.
13:58So if you want to keep up a proper social security system,
14:01if you want to keep up also the state security systems for people who need it,
14:06we have to keep up strong businesses.
14:07And this is why we cannot isolate Europe.
14:09We have to rather convince other parts of the world to also tackle climate change.
14:13We have to convince other parts of the world to join our pathway
14:17towards a climate change-aware humanity.
14:22And we are far away from that.
14:23We need global geopolitical gravity.
14:26We need the global outreach.
14:28And we will only have it with two factors.
14:30If we are economically strong and if we are militarily strong,
14:33meaning capable to defend ourselves, then we will be listened to.
14:37And then we can, let's say, positively share our view on climate change
14:41with other parts of the world.
14:42Quick reaction?
14:43Yes.
14:44So I still think that the problem is now we are making decisions that favor
14:48one group of companies at the expense of others.
14:52So it's not about, like, making things better for companies or not.
14:55But the weakening the price signals in the ETS system actually benefits the companies
15:01who have not invested in decarbonization at the benefits of those who have not, who have.
15:06And I don't think, I mean, for if you want to do business-friendly policies that at the same time
15:13aim at reducing these critical dependencies, then you should not support weakening the emissions
15:19trading system, which is a market-based mechanism designed to make sure that the price signal
15:25will steer private actors to invest in decarbonization.
15:29Also from the point of view of convincing other parts of the world about the reason why we need
15:36to have ambitious climate policies, how does it look when Europe is actually changing direction
15:43on the climate policies, when we are signaling that we are slowing down the pace, we are backing
15:49down when it comes to the green transition, we're changing a lot of the legislation from
15:53last mandate.
15:54The signal this sends to the world is that Europe does not believe in this project.
15:57Rightly so.
15:58I mean, we were in the wrong pathway in the last mandate.
16:00We took a lot of wrong decisions.
16:02We made Europe isolated from other parts of the world, with the supply chain ores, for example.
16:06We actually politically had wrong majorities, also in this very parliament, different to
16:11this mandate, when it comes to the economy, when it comes to the opportunities for Europeans.
16:16And what's important to understand is it's not only the household, like your household,
16:21my household, where we see increasing energy prices.
16:24It's a dependency of major parts of our economy of energy prices.
16:29And here we might have a different view on things.
16:31Lower energy prices, or let's say moderate energy prices, which are still higher than
16:35in the U.S. or in China, are something the whole economy benefits from and each business
16:41benefits from.
16:42And this is not a choice.
16:44This is not to be discussed.
16:46This is something absolutely necessary to existentially keep up European economy.
16:51when it comes to AI and data centers, not even to mention what energy they need.
16:54For this lively round, we have heard the views from our guests.
16:58Now it's time to hear from another voice.
17:06That voice is, of course, Ursula von der Leyen herself.
17:10Take a listen.
17:11The Commission is proposing the Kids Act.
17:15In sum, no social media under the age of 13.
17:21No personal account under the age of 15.
17:26I am aware that many perceive the power of big tech as overwhelming and impossible to roll
17:31back.
17:32I disagree.
17:33We do not have to accept addictive features.
17:36We do not have to accept children being drawn into ever more extreme content.
17:42We do not have to accept that girls have their photos used for AI-generated sexualized images.
17:51So, is it time for Brussels to tell parents, rather than parents deciding themselves, what
17:57age children should be allowed online?
18:01Lukas, I'm going to start with you.
18:02Parents always have the first say, and this should be addressed.
18:05Parents have, at the same time, the freedom and the responsibility in the education of
18:10children.
18:10Secondly, it's not new that politics is creating means and measures in order to save children
18:16from harmful content.
18:17Imagine, maybe it sounds ironic today, that in cinemas, in each country, I'm sure in Finland
18:22too, in Austria as well, we have commissions for cinemas which judge what age would be the
18:29right age to begin from for this or that movie broadcasted in the cinemas.
18:34And if we imagine what children today see on TikTok, Instagram and in other channels, then
18:39we have a huge problem, not only for society also, not only for politics when it comes to
18:45extremism, also that, also for mental health of these very children.
18:49So, we have a responsibility.
18:51We also save children from alcohol, from nicotine.
18:54I'm a little confused.
18:54Are you supporting her initiative?
18:56Absolutely.
18:57My home country was even earlier, but I'm happy to have a European approach because Europe
19:02is one.
19:04Yeah, so I need to know more about what she will propose.
19:08I've been quite critical of this idea of having an age limit because I think the problem is that
19:12it kind of takes focus away from the responsibility of the tech giants.
19:16I mean, they are the ones that need to change how their platforms work.
19:21But as far as I understand, they are trying actually to find a balance here by allowing also then
19:27younger kids to use social media through their guardians' accounts.
19:33And I think the most actually important thing that she said was that she is willing to put
19:37forward legislation aimed at forcing these tech giants changing the way that the algorithms
19:45work on the social media platforms for kids.
19:48That is important because that is something that no single parent can do.
19:52I'm going to throw something out there and please come up with short answers.
19:56I'm interested in your thinking here.
19:58We know that kids spend more and more time in front of screens, two and a half hours per
20:03day on average.
20:05Yet the time they spend reading a book goes down and down and down and down.
20:11What is wrong?
20:12What have we missed?
20:13And how can we reverse that trend?
20:15Lukas?
20:16I think it's not about reversal.
20:17It's about the proper future development.
20:19We have seen what it causes.
20:21It's highly addictive.
20:22We have not yet added that before.
20:24Of course, the platforms also have a big responsibility.
20:26I agree with my colleague here.
20:28And it's actually the example.
20:30It's not only kids who are spending so much time on the smartphones and not only there,
20:34but in the social media apps and even worse sometimes in messenger services providing a lot
20:39of conspiracy theories and harmful content.
20:41It's about mental health.
20:43It's about a good example we have to provide.
20:45But it's also, of course, about means and measures to protect children like we do with
20:48arco and nicotine and other substances.
20:50We need to move on.
20:51Lee, your thoughts briefly.
20:54Yeah.
20:54I mean, the challenge is that it's not only kids who read less books.
20:58It's everybody.
20:59I mean, look at the adults.
21:01Look how we are behaving.
21:03Good point.
21:03So if we want to change this, I think you need an all of society approach because the
21:07kids will not start taking up books if their parents are still on their phones.
21:12So we would need to have like a more broad discussion.
21:15I think of course, schools are really important that you read books in schools and you focus
21:19a lot on literacy.
21:20But this is then something that would have to involve also parents and adults.
21:24This is obviously a task for all of us.
21:27Now, it's time for our fourth round.
21:34At this point, let's take a look at how Europe's citizens follow the current debates and what
21:39their thinking is.
21:40In other words, what does Europe mean to Europeans today?
21:44Just this week, the European Council on Foreign Relations published a survey that offers some
21:49eye-opening clues.
21:51For example, 68% of Europeans describe Europe's current situation in terms of general deterioration
21:59or loss of normality.
22:0112% speak of it as an awakening and renewal, speaking of Europe.
22:08And 30%, one third, mention Europe's hypocrisy and its failure to stand its ground when confronted
22:17by powerful actors.
22:18Now, you're both members of the European Parliament.
22:21When you hear such statements and such findings and such figures, what do you feel?
22:28Are you worried?
22:29I'm in politics because I want to change things for the better.
22:32I very much understand the majority in your polls.
22:36Actually, there is a loss of normality.
22:38Nobody can disagree with that for many years already.
22:41And nearly every day something happens that feels for somebody at least above a specific
22:47age as a loss of normality.
22:48I would not call it deterioration what's happening because we dynamically can adapt.
22:54This is something Europe is very good in.
22:56But of course, I mean, we have to change systems.
22:58That was something the president addressed in her State of the Union speech today.
23:02And the renewal, which is seen by 12%, I think, in your polls, which we have just seen now,
23:08the renewal is not yet here.
23:09We have to work on that renewal.
23:10We need more leadership.
23:11We need more confidence in our societies.
23:13And this feeling of lack of normality, this feeling of deterioration is also fueling extremism
23:18to the left, to the right, extremism of all kinds, intolerance in our societies.
23:23This is what I'm most concerned of.
23:24Intolerance is relevant for politics, but for society in general, in daily behavior of people,
23:30in interaction of people, we should provide each other with more resonance and personal
23:34encounter among citizens.
23:35I like the lack of confidence idea because this is obviously the larger theme here, deep
23:42rooted lack of confidence.
23:44And that's why we have the election results that we have right now.
23:47What are your thoughts, Lee?
23:49Well, I mean, I agree both.
23:52I agree actually with the analysis on loss of normality.
23:54I mean, that is something I guess we all share looking at what is going on in the world.
23:59We have all this multiple crisis.
24:00We have changing power relations globally.
24:03It means a lot of things are moving.
24:05And so the old kind of truths and the old guidebooks for how to act are no longer occurring.
24:10But I also agree with the ones who criticize this hypocrisy, because I think that a lot
24:17of people feel at this moment when we're seeing this authoritarian, like right-wing extremist
24:23ideology of, I would say, both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
24:27I think they're actually very united in their world view and ideology.
24:32We really would like for Europe to step up.
24:35So both to have a very ambitious program for our sovereignty.
24:39So we would not be dependent on any kind of authoritarian actor, but also in a more like value and
24:46policy oriented
24:47way.
24:47Like for us to be really a consequent defender of international law and human rights, which
24:53unfortunately the European Union has not been.
24:56to stand our ground against Donald Trump's administration.
25:00I think people miss also this aspect.
25:02That is probably the lack of normality when we look at Washington these days.
25:05OK, now it's time to move on to our fifth and final round.
25:13And as always, we're doing something different.
25:15I'm going to ask you a set of questions and you can only answer with a yes or no.
25:20OK, this has to be a quick round because we are already way ahead.
25:26Was Ursula von der Leyen promising more than the EU can actually deliver?
25:31Leadership means to also draw a vision on the wall.
25:34So the answer is yes.
25:35Yes.
25:35That's not a bad thing.
25:36OK.
25:37Yes.
25:38Yes.
25:38OK.
25:40Is von der Leyen's coalition becoming too broad to deliver real political change?
25:46No.
25:47Not at all.
25:48There is a parliament with good majorities, as we have seen in this mandate, and we will
25:53use it for the economy and for the security.
25:54OK.
25:55The question is what the majority is.
25:57Can Europe realistically spend more on defense, technology, Ukraine, housing, etc.?
26:02All of this at the same time?
26:05With an increased budget, yes.
26:08The one goes together with the other.
26:10If the economy is good, we can spend in housing, and this is why we have to get the economy
26:14moving
26:15forward.
26:15Should the EU borrow jointly again to finance European investment?
26:20Absolutely.
26:21I think own resources, also Eurobonds, and especially the investments unit when it comes to the savings
26:26that are there in Europe is extremely important.
26:28I think own resources should have first priority, but I'm not against joint borrowing, if needed.
26:33OK.
26:34Should Canada become a member of the EU?
26:38Now I have you.
26:41I mean, personally...
26:42Yes or no?
26:43So, I will not say no.
26:45I have nothing against Canada, really.
26:47At some point, sure.
26:48But against the EU, obviously.
26:50OK.
26:50There are other countries that we need to focus on first.
26:53OK.
26:54Yes or no?
26:54Very short.
26:55Yes or no?
26:55Canada?
26:56Yes.
26:56OK.
26:57Good.
26:57And that final answer brings us to the end of this live edition, a very lively of The
27:03Ring.
27:03Thanks again to Lee Andersson and Lukas Mandel for a fascinating conversation here from the
27:08European Parliament.
27:09Thanks to our audience at home.
27:12If you'd like, you can send us your comments to TheRing at Euronews.com.
27:16We'd love to have your feedback.
27:18That's it for today.
27:19I'm Stefan Grobe.
27:20See you soon on Euronews.
27:27Euronews.
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