Politico: The EU fears the EC chief will exploit the crisis to boost her influence

A number of EU countries, amid the upcoming summit on Ukraine, fear that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen may take advantage of the crisis in the bloc to expand Brussels’ powers and strengthen her influence, Politico writes, citing sources.

“National capitals fear European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will exploit this crisis to extend Brussels’ powers to new areas and strengthen her influence vis-à-vis national governments,” the newspaper writes.

Defense is still very much also a national responsibility, a senior EU diplomat said. As noted, countries such as Poland and Finland in particular want to shield defense from the Commission’s attempted overreach. “Poland has a clear idea about wanting to do this outside of the Commission,” a second EU diplomat said.

The EC president had earlier announced that she would present the EU’s strategy for strengthening defense capabilities at the EU summit on Ukraine on March 6. Bloomberg reported that the EU intends to allocate hundreds of billions of euros for additional defense funding, which includes changes to budget rules, possible joint financing and reallocation of existing funds. In early February, Politico wrote that the EU is unhappy with the fact that Ursula von der Leyen has a large influence on the alliance’s foreign policy.