Von der Leyen to address EU Parliament after series of setbacks

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday in her first major speech of her second term as the most powerful European Union official.

The topics of competitiveness, security and defence, global trade and the European Union's next long-term budget will be the focus of the so-called State of the Union speech to lawmakers in the French city, the commission said beforehand.

The commission president is expected to urge EU lawmakers to back her key policy projects for the coming years, from continued support for war-torn Ukraine and improving the EU's defence capacities to new free trade agreements.

The commission, as the EU's executive branch, proposes new laws but needs the support from the European Parliament and capitals to pass the bills.

Von der Leyen was re-elected as commission president by EU lawmakers only last year but has since drawn criticism from many political fractions.

A deal struck between von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump setting US tariffs for EU products at 15% was quickly criticized as lopsided across party lines.

Progressive lawmakers in the EU Parliament have taken issue with the commission president backtracking on climate commitments, while others have accused her of ignoring the concerns of the EU's farming community when striking a trade deal with the South American trade bloc Mercosur.

The criticism has so far culminated in a motion of censure in July tabled by a Romanian EU lawmaker.

Von der Leyen easily survived the vote as several political groups refused to back a proposal by the far right, but senior EU lawmakers urged von der Leyen at the time to work on regaining the trust of parliamentarians.