Ursula von der Leyen’s Strasbourg address opening the political season was discussed in Budapest at a joint event organized by the European Commission Representation in Hungary and the European Parliament. The conversation was moderated by Zupkó Gábor, head of the European Commission Representation in Hungary, and featured former European Commissioners Andor László and Navracsics Tibor.
Surprises and omissions in the speech
Navracsics Tibor (Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, 2014–2019) called the proposal to offer an as-yet undefined associated membership to Canada surprising, and welcomed the proposal to regulate minors’ use of social media. He missed stronger emphasis on cohesion and the internal market, and felt the competitiveness agenda was not addressed in depth.
Andor László (Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, 2010–2014) also found the Canada initiative unexpected and said it was positive that von der Leyen acknowledged the difficulties facing EU leadership. He criticized that the United States was not mentioned at all in the speech and argued that the Commission President should place more emphasis on cost-of-living issues, warning that if the EU does not present itself as part of the solution, citizens may perceive it as part of the problem.
Defence: NATO or a European initiative?
Navracsics strongly criticized the idea of creating a European Security Council that could act as a NATO competitor. He argued that defence issues require military support and different logic, and that sidelining the NATO would be risky. “NATO remains one of the pillars of the post‑1945 world order,” he said.
Andor noted that since the start of a possible second Trump term, many in EU leadership have experienced cognitive dissonance about global developments: they do not fully understand why certain events happen and why the EU is sometimes vulnerable (for example chip shortages, Ukraine support, energy issues). He believes the EU must reduce such vulnerabilities and prepare for an era of “economic warfare”.
Navracsics summed up his position succinctly: security policy is primarily "NATO’s business"; the EU is primarily an economic integration organisation whose remit has expanded but is not a defence community.
Competitiveness and innovation financing
Andor highlighted that since the Draghi report was published, competitiveness has been a major challenge for the European Commission and member states. He pointed to an investment gap and argued the Union needs much greater financing capacity to support innovation and business development. He also observed a shift toward economic-security priorities, such as reducing dependence on China.
Navracsics suggested that competitiveness appeared in the speech partly for optics — it had to be mentioned — but criticised that the focus was on geopolitical and security aspects rather than on core internal issues like the single market and cohesion.
Artificial intelligence and Europe’s innovation gap
Both speakers considered the section on responsible AI development important. Andor said many in Europe try to copy the US model, despite earlier European proposals (for example Juncker-era ideas linking European investment banks with the private sector) that could have created funding for technology development. He welcomed von der Leyen’s insistence that human decision-making should remain central and that AI should be a tool.
Navracsics quipped that he would not rule out a scenario in which “in a few months’ time AI organises a conference on responsible AI development.” He also stressed a recurring problem: European inventions often reach their commercial potential in the United States — examples mentioned include Viber and Spotify — because the US ecosystem is more flexible for business scale-up.
On the proposal to restrict children’s use of social media, Navracsics said the principle has broad support, but a debate will follow about whether this should be handled at EU or member-state level.
Migration remains a persistent pressure point
Migration was a central theme in the discussion. Andor said that after many years the EU has a migration pact, and it may not be necessary for the Commission to launch new initiatives in response to every border incident. He criticised simplistic narratives that reduce migration to “evil smugglers” without analysing root causes, different forms of migration, or possible benefits.
Navracsics described migration as a problem that has persisted for more than a decade and for which the European Commission has not found a durable, broadly accepted solution. He argued that political displays of a humanist face are sometimes not followed by implementation of decisions, leaving migration as a continuing source of tension in Europe.
What von der Leyen said in Strasbourg
In her speech von der Leyen said the EU looks both stronger than ever and more fragile — a paradox she tied to exceptional times. She referenced Hungary, saying that EU‑skeptic forces are strengthening but that Hungary had shown nothing is inevitable: “On April 12, Hungarians took their future into their own hands. They chose Europe and democracy and brought Hungary back to the heart of the EU,” she said.
Other elements of the speech included:
- a new package to streamline bank regulation and combat fragmentation, and measures to promote quality jobs by regulation;
- a climate plan identifying the 100 most vulnerable European areas, assessing risks and responses;
- a proposed mandatory age of 13 and a “mini‑profile” for 13–15 year olds on social media across the EU;
- warnings addressed to China and Serbia, and the offer of a not-yet-defined associated membership to Canada;
- the emphasis that Europeans decide who may enter EU territory.
Conclusion
The Budapest discussion showed that the former commissioners appreciated parts of von der Leyen’s agenda but retained reservations about several key areas: the future of defence cooperation, how to finance competitiveness and innovation, and how to handle migration comprehensively. The debate underlined how security policy, technological competition and social issues such as child protection online are intertwined, and that the EU leadership must provide coherent responses to these complex challenges.
