The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her annual message on the state of affairs in the European Union on September 13 in Strasbourg.

Photo: REUTERS

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her annual message on the state of affairs in the European Union on September 13 in Strasbourg. In her florid speech, which journalists call “pre-election”, the official spoke a lot about the successes and future of the bloc. Among other things, she announced preparations for the expansion of the European Union to include Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans. However, no deadlines or specifics were announced, and we were talking about preliminary work.

Not everyone was inspired by the lengthy, hour-long rant about the future of Europe. European Commissioner Ylva Johansson chose to knit pink socks during her leader’s speech, apparently preparing for a harsh winter. This episode was noticed by the radical French politician, head of the Patriots party, Florian Philippot, who was indignant on his social networks: “Ursula von der Leyen’s speech was so tiresome that one of her commissars chose to knit while she spoke! And these highly paid people decide our destinies! Incredible.”

The head of the European bureau of the Chinese newspaper China Daily, Chen Weihua, spoke even more radically following the results of the speech, calling the head of the EC an “American poodle” and a “pathetic and hypocritical leader.” Reacting to the European Commission’s decision to oppose the import of Chinese electric cars, he wrote on social networks: “When the European Union is ruled by an American poodle like von der Leyen, it is disaster after disaster for the EU. The European economy is shrinking sharply compared to the US economy under her leadership,” before adding: “The speech is so boring that von der Leyen resorted to criticizing China to attract attention and please her father Joe (Biden).” Official Beijing also commented on the speech of the head of the European Commission, accusing the European Union of “blatant protectionist behavior.”

Although Ursula von der Leyen has not yet officially announced plans to run for a second term, Europeans have no doubt that her speech was the start of her election campaign. Let us remind you that the German woman has held the post of head of the European Commission since 2019 and can retain the chair for another 5 years. Previously published by POLITICO wroteher highly likely re-election in the summer of 2024 looks more like a coronation than a democratic procedure.

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