Ursula von der Leyen used her set piece speech last year to declare Europe's "independence moment." Twelve months later, the European Commission president's record shows the EU's independence still very much depends on its national capitals. One year after her last State of the Union address, von der Leyen has delivered most clearly where the Commission could act largely on its own: writing laws and funding initiatives on core topics like tech, trade and social policy. She struggled most where success required member countries to agree, surrender more control to Brussels or build genuinely new European capabilities — particularly on defense.
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