Ursula von der Leyen: Path to EU Membership is a Path to Stronger Democracies, too

Ursula von der Leyen, (BETAPHOTO/STA/Tamino Petelinsek/MO)

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Sept. 14 that the European Union (EU) was incomplete without the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, underlining that the path towards out Union and the path to stronger democracies were one and the same.

“You are part of our family, your future is in our Union, and our Union is incomplete without you. There is also a need to reach out to the countries of Europe – beyond the accession process. This is why I support the call for a European Political Community,” she said during her annual State of the EU speech.

The president of the European Commission also said that this watershed moment in global politics called for a rethink of the Union’s foreign policy agenda, and to invest in the power of democracies. “The work begins with the core group of our like-minded partners: our friends in every single democratic nation on this globe.”

“We should strive to expand this core of democracies. The most immediate way to do so is to deepen our ties and strengthen democracies on our continent. This starts with those countries that are already on the path to our Union, because the path towards strong democracies and the path towards our Union are one and the same,” she said in her speech.