'Europe is the right place to invest' - Special Address by President Ursula von der Leyen at Davos

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On 20 January 2026, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shared a special address at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in Switzerland. 'Geopolitical shocks can - and must - be an opportunity for Europe. From security to the economy. From defence to democracy. Europe is the right place to invest.' 'The world may be very different today. But I believe the lesson is very much the same. That geopolitical shocks can – and must – serve as an opportunity for Europe. In my view, the seismic change we are going through today is an opportunity, in fact a necessity to build a new form of European independence. This need is neither new nor a reaction to recent events. It has been a structural imperative for far longer. So when I used this term – European independence – around a year ago, I was surprised at the sceptical reactions. But less than one year on, there is now a real consensus around this. The sheer speed and almost unthinkable scale of the change have driven this – but the underlying imperative is still the same.' Read Commission President's full speech here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_26_150 Chapters 00:00 Introduction President Ursula von der Leyen 02:40 Welcome Greetings 02:45 A world More Fractured than Ever 04:33 A European Independence 06:22 EU-Mercosur 09:39 EU Inc a New European company structure 11:38 The Savings and Investments Union 14:22 Business, Capital and Energy 16:33 Security. A Just and Lasting Peace for Ukraine 18:53 Greenland and Security of the Arctic Region 20:22 United States Tariffs, Allyship Follow us on: -X: https://twitter.com/EU_Commission -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeancommission/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanCommission -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-commission/ -Medium: https://medium.com/@EuropeanCommission Check our website: https://commission.europa.eu/