LAST UPDATE | 10 Sep 2025

Mairead Maguire Reports from Strasbourg

URSULA VON DER Leyen used her State of the Union speech today to warn Israel that famine “can never be a weapon of war”.

The President of the European Commission stopped short of calling Israel’s assaults on Gaza genocide in what has been her strongest statements so far on the issue.

She was speaking during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg.

A portion of the lengthy speech was dedicated to acknowledging the suffering inflicted on people in Gaza, as Israel continues to bomb civilians and infrastructure.

“What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world,” said von der Leyen.

“People killed while begging for food. Mothers holding lifeless babies. These images are simply catastrophic.

“Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war.

“For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity, this must stop,” she said to applause in the chamber.

The biggest applause from the MEPs came when von der Leyen announced a fund called the Palestine Donor Group, which she said will include a dedicated instrument for Gaza reconstruction. 

Von der Leyen has been under pressure to take a firmer line on Gaza, with Irish MEPs saying the lack of action has contributed to her recent unpopularity.

She also announced today that the EU will start sanctioning Israel’s “extremist ministers”, some of whom she said have ‘incited’ violence.

Von der Leyen committed to a partial suspension of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel. She didn’t elaborate in her speech on what form that could take. 

She said the only way forward in the conflict is a two-state solution where both Israel and Palestine can exist peacefully.

🔴 🇪🇺 🇮🇱 With regards to the war in #Gaza, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen spoke out against the use of #famine as a weapon in the #Palestinian enclave. The chief proposed implementing sanction on extremist #Israeli ministers and violent #settlers, among other measures. pic.twitter.com/dpq2tOLueR

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) September 10, 2025

Some Irish MEPs were pleasantly surprised by the strength of the comments. 

Fine Gael MEP welcomed the “shift” in approach, while Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews said he feels von der Leyen has listened to MEPs who support the right to self-determination.

In contrast, Sinn Féin’s Kathleen Funchion had less praise, saying she was angered by the unwillingness to label what’s happening in Gaza as genocide.

“She doesn’t seem to be willing to call out Netanyahu (Israel’s prime minister) for the war criminal that he is,” she told The Journal. 

Trump’s tariffs

Von der Leyen is fighting a narrative that the EU ‘sold out’ to the US by accepting what is widely accepted as a very bad tariff deal.

Today, she defended the deal with Washington, saying it stabilised ties at a time of soaring global tensions and averted trade war “chaos”.

“Tariffs are taxes. But the deal provides crucial stability in our relations with the US at a time of grave global insecurity,” she told MEPs.

“Think of the repercussions of a full-fledged trade war with the US. Picture the chaos.”

Fighting words

The far-right group Patriots for Europe have reportedly reached the required number of signatures to table a no confidence motion in von der Leyen. If it goes ahaead, it’ll be the second such vote in three months. Von der Leyen survived the last one but her somewhat well-received speech has clearly failed to subdue staunch critics.

The Left has also been threatening to bring forward a confidence motion.

Today’s speech was an opportunity for von der Leyen to show MEPs that she has been listening, and to reassert the bloc’s strength.

Europe will defend “every inch” of its soil, she said, urging investments in strategic capabilities to boost its “eastern flank” faced with the threat from Russia.

She also said the EU must fight for its place in a new and “hostile” world by taking responsibility for its security and asserting control over key technologies and energy sources.

“Battlelines for a new world order based on power are being drawn right now. So, yes, Europe must fight. For its place in a world in which many major powers are either ambivalent or openly hostile to Europe,” she said.

“This must be Europe’s independence moment.”