What she sidestepped was how to find more cash and convince member states to pay up.
Von der Leyen, or her successor, will have to figure out how to pay for enlargement.
Von der Leyen tapped into trade frustrations with her pledge to investigate and possibly punish Chinese subsidies for car and battery makers.
During her first term, von der Leyen succeeded in connecting the EU with bond investors via the 800 billion euro NextGenerationEU borrowing programme.
A second term will require even more finesse to convince EU member states to raise money not just from markets, but from themselves.
Persons:
Ursula von der, European Union won’t, der, von der Leyen’s, Greens –, der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Thierry Breton, Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, Von der, Carlo Bastasin, Von der Leyen, von der Leyen, sceptics, Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel’s, Jens Stoltenberg’s, Francesco Guerrera, Streisand Neto, Thomas Shum
Organizations:
Reuters, European Union, Bank, EU, European Commission, Socialists, Greens, NATO, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Brookings, handouts, Organisation for Economic Co, Transport, Environment, Thomson
Locations:
BRUSSELS, Ukraine, Moldova, Western, Brussels, Germany, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Turkey, Georgia, Spain, Poland, United States, China, Ireland, Netherlands, EU, EU’s, Hungary