Peace can never mean surrender, von der Leyen says in new Orbán rebuke

Peace can never mean surrender and sovereignty can never mean occupation, Ursula von der Leyen has said in a fresh rebuke to those pressuring Ukraine into agreeing to a settlement with Russia that would likely entail giving up parts of its territory.

Warning that “peace cannot be taken for granted,” the European Commission president urged her fellow leaders to reject deceitful narratives that blur the lines, reverse roles and shift responsibilities in the invasion, now into its third year with no resolution in sight.

“Today, some politicians inside our Union, and even in this part of Europe, are muddying the waters of our conversation about Ukraine. They blame the war not on the invader but on the invaded; not on Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom,” she said on Friday, speaking at the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague.

“So I want to ask them: Would you ever blame Hungarians for the Soviet invasion of 1956? Would you ever blame Czechs for the Soviet repression in 1968? And the answer to this question is very clear: The Kremlin’s behaviour was illegal and atrocious back then. And the Kremlin’s behaviour is illegal and atrocious today.”

Although not mentioned by name, one of the prime targets of von der Leyen’s admonition was Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary who last month triggered a furious outcry when, in an unannounced trip, he flew to Moscow and met face to face with Putin to discuss possible ways to end the war.

Putin welcomed Orbán as a representative of the European Union, despite the premier’s lack of mandate to speak on behalf of the 27-member bloc.

The visit prompted a boycott against Hungary’s six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, which began on 1 July. Von de Leyen ordered her Commissioners to abide by the no-show policy and forsake attendance in meetings held in Budapest. She later excoriated the so-called “peace mission” in her re-election speech before the European Parliament, prompting loud applause from lawmakers.

On Friday, she continued the denunciation, arguing that those who oppose military supplies to Kyiv are not making the case for peace but rather for “appeasement and subjugation.” Emboldened by his veto power, Orbán has repeatedly derailed the bloc’s efforts to provide further military assistance to the war-torn nation. As of today, Brussels has €6.5 billion completely paralysed by Hungary’s opposition.

“We Europeans may have different histories. We may speak different languages but in no language, peace is synonymous with surrender. In no language, sovereignty is synonymous with occupation,” von der Leyen told the audience in Prague.

“My position is that peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace is a settlement that makes war impossible and unnecessary,” she added, noting that Ukraine’s integration into the European Union should be at “the heart of our peace effort.”

Orbán has also questioned Ukraine’s EU aspirations. His deputies have said no chapter of the accession process will be opened during the country’s presidency.

‘We Europeans must be on guard’

In her speech, von der Leyen spoke extensively about the imperative need to ramp up the EU’s defence capabilities, long disregarded under the post-Cold War illusion that “peace was achieved once and for all” and that Putin would ultimately choose economic prosperity over “his delusional dream of empire.”

“Today, we cannot afford any more illusions,” she said.

“The second half of the decade will be high-risk. The war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East have put geopolitics in flux. Tensions are also running high in the Far East,” she went on. “We Europeans must be on guard.”

In a telling sign of how much times have changed, von der Leyen said the EU, founded in the ashes of WWII as a peace project, should be seen as “intrinsically a security project” and called for a “systematic overhaul” of the bloc’s defence policy.

The president’s guidelines for a second term leave no doubt that defence will be a top priority in the next five years. The document floats a string of proposals to increase public and private investment into the arms industry, promote homegrown high-end technology, organise joint purchases of military equipment, boost cyber-defence capabilities and strengthen sanctions against hybrid attacks, among other ideas.

Von der Leyen also intends to appoint a dedicated Commissioner for Defence, although it’s unclear how much actual power this new office will hold given the limits established by the EU treaties, which leave defence firmly in the hands of member states.

“Even if Europeans take the current security threats seriously, it will take time and massive investment to re-structure our defence industries,” she said. “Our aim must be to build continent-size defence output.”

The president, a staunch advocate of the transatlantic alliance, took a moment to reflect on the importance of America’s support for Ukraine, which Brussels fears could evaporate if Donald Trump wins the November presidential elections. Should Washington pull out, it would be materially impossible for Europe to fill the massive gap.

“I cannot overemphasise the importance of the US support for Ukraine since the start of this war. Once again, America has stood up for the freedom of all Europeans. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for this but also a deep sense of responsibility,” she said.

But, she pointedly added, “protecting Europe is first and foremost Europe’s duty.”