EU can no longer rely on ‘rules-based’ system against threats— European Commission president

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the bloc must act more assertively as reliance on a rules-based system alone may no longer protect its interests. She calls for a review of EU institutions and decision-making to strengthen credibility in a changing geopolitical landscape.

Reuters

March 09, 2026

EU can no longer rely on ‘rules-based’ system against threats— European Commission president

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks next to President of the Swiss Federation, Guy Parmelin (not pictured), ahead of the signing of a broad package of EU-Switzerland agreements, in Brussels, Belgium, March 2, 2026.

Yves Herman/Reuters

The EU must be prepared to project its power more assertively as it can no longer rely on a "rules-based" system against threats and must determine if its institutions and systems help or hinder its credibility, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

"We will always defend and uphold the rules-based system that we helped to build with our allies, but we can no longer rely on it as the only way to defend our interests or assume its rules will shelter us from the complex threats that we face," von der Leyen said at a conference for EU ambassadors.

"We urgently need to reflect on whether our doctrine, our institutions and our decision making – all designed in a postwar world of stability and multilateralism – have kept pace with the speed of change around us. Whether the system that we built – with all of its well-intentioned attempts at consensus and compromise – is more a help or a hindrance to our credibility as a geopolitical actor," she added.

-Reporting by Lili Bayer; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Bart Meijer/Reuters