The West as we knew it is dead, warns Ursula von der Leyen

The EU chief highlighted splintering ties with the US as she praised Europe’s predictability in the face of President Trump’s tariff chaos

“The West no longer exists”, Ursula von der Leyen has said while defending a “stronger Europe” in a riposte to President Trump’s administration and its “bros” and “oligarchs making the rules”

The president of the European Commission declared that Europe was the best place for democracy, equality, healthcare and for the middle class.

In an interview with Die Zeit, von der Leyen, 66, said that “the West as we knew it no longer exists”, while contrasting Washington’s unpredictable behaviour and tariff chaos to the EU’s commitment to global trade.

“Everyone is asking for more trade with Europe — and it’s not just about economic ties. It is also about establishing common rules and it is about ­predictability,” she said. “Europe is known for its predictability and reliability, which is once again starting to be seen as something very valuable.”

She compared the American president’s ­inner circle of “bros” such as Elon Musk to Russian oligarchs. “We don’t have bros or oligarchs making the rules,” she said. “We don’t invade our neighbours, and we don’t punish them”, a reference to Trump’s “make America great again” tariffs and Putin’s naked imperialism against Ukraine.

Trump has accused the EU of being formed to “screw” the US, called American support for Nato into question and his deputy, JD Vance, has criticised Europe for being soft on migration, hostile to European voters and flabby on freedom, especially of speech.

Von der Leyen, contrasted Europe with the US, reflecting on higher levels of American inequality and lower life expectancy.

“In Europe, children can go to good schools however wealthy their parents are. We have lower CO2 emissions [and] higher life expectancy,” she said, ­adding that “controversial debates are allowed at our universities”, in a reference to Trump’s attempt to curb academia with regulations on ­universities.

She accused Russia and “other autocratic states” of interfering in European society but said that the continent was less vulnerable because solidarity there was greater.

“Inequalities are less pronounced here, in part because we have a social market economy and because the ­levers of power are more widely distributed,” she said. “We have a stronger, broader middle class than, for example, the US.”

“Inequalities are less pronounced here, in part because we have a social market economy and because the ­levers of power are more widely distributed,” she said. “We have a stronger, broader middle class than, for example, the US.”

Vance has accused the EU of cancelling elections in Romania and of raising anti-democratic barriers to populism, including limits on free speech, to ­suppress popular anger. He has downplayed the threat of Russia, arguing that the real danger to Europe lies in uncontrolled migration, and complained of the exclusion of hard-right nationalists from government via mechanisms such as a “firewall” against the Alternative for Germany party.

The former German defence ­minister reminded America that Europeans had fresh memories of oppression and repression, not just in eastern Europe but in the west. “So, for many of us, our collective consciousness has a much stronger sense of just how precious democracy is and how we have to constantly strive to protect it.”

Signalling a new, more combative, political approach after European ­assessments that Trump was forced to back down after bungling his tariffs policy, von der Leyen thanked the president: “It’s often easier to see your own strengths in somebody else’s mirror.”

Von der Leyen noted that while 13 per cent of global trade was with the US, 87 per cent was with other countries. “And they all want predictability and reliable rules. Europe can deliver that.”

Europeans are divided on the new approach. Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s populist prime minister, will arrive in Washington on Thursday. Von der Leyen, who is also EU chief on trade, has yet to be invited.

The Vance plans to visit Rome on Good Friday, where he is expected to praise Meloni’s governing alliance of conservatives, nationalists and populists as the future for Europe. She will tell Trump that her voice was key to convincing the EU to hold fire in retaliation to Trump’s now delayed tariffs.

She will repeat the EU’s offer to buy more American liquefied natural gas and weapons as well as a “zero tariffs for zero tariffs” agreement on industrial products. In return she is hoping for a truce on an existing 10 per cent tariff and a promise of trade negotiations between the US and EU. 

Trump backed down on tariffs hitting €383 billion of European imports after financial market turbulence that wiped trillions off the value off US stocks.

But Von der Leyen’s broader message was clear: “You can make money anywhere in the world. But where do you want to raise your children? Where do you want to be if your health isn’t great? When you get older?

“There are many very good answers which Europe has to offer.”