Úrsula von der Leyen

🐣 Happy Easter to everyone and to this little chick who hatched just on time to join us on our family holiday. I wish you a lovely and relaxing moment with your family and loved ones.

Yesterday, the European Union received €1.4 billion of revenues from immobilised Russian assets. These funds will be directed where they are needed most: to sustain the Ukrainian State, preserve essential public services and support the brave Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This has been an exceptional week with a trilogy of trade successes.

🦘 Because koalas shouldn’t be the only ones in the spotlight! Thank you Sydney, thank you Australia for a wonderful visit.

Mates 🇪🇺🇦🇺

It was an honour to stand at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and to witness the Last Post at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. From Europe, we remember with gratitude the sacrifice and courage of the many Australians who stood beside us in the long and fragile pursuit of peace and freedom. “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.”

🐨 Now THAT’S an Australian welcome! 🇦🇺 Huge thanks to @tarongazoo for this unforgettable visit and for taking such good care of the cutest creatures ever.

After almost a decade of work – we can say: we did it. We have concluded the 🇪🇺🇦🇺 Free Trade Agreement. And it is such a win for both side.

Worlds apart, but now closer than ever 🇦🇺🇪🇺 Australia and Europe are taking our relationship to the next level with a once in a generation Free Trade Agreement and Security and Defence Partnership. More jobs. More security. More local products in global markets. And in an increasingly uncertain world, these relationships matter. Because when we work together, we’re stronger than ever.

10 years since Brussels was attacked in a way it will never forget. Today, we think of the victims and their loved ones who still carry a loss that time cannot heal. Today, as in 2016, we stand united. In solidarity and determined to protect our common values.

What does EU Inc. mean? 🇪🇺 One simple set of rules across all EU countries 🚀 Start a company, fully online, in under 48 hours 💶 Easier access to funding to grow 🌍 Expand across borders without extra red tape To compete globally, Europe needs speed, scale, and strength. EU Inc. is how we get there 💪

EU Inc. creates a single European company framework. It is one simple set of rules that works across our entire Single Market of 450 million consumers. Companies will be able to manage their documents and communicate with administrations fully digitally, in all 27 Member States.

Europe has the talent, the ideas and the ambition to become the best place for innovators. Yet today, European entrepreneurs who want to scale up face 27 legal systems and more than 60 national company forms. With EU Inc., we are making it drastically easier to start and grow a business all across Europe.

Thank you @emmanuelmacron for organising a call with G7 partners to discuss a coordinated response to the concerning situation in Iran and the Middle East. We are focused on minimising the impact on security and the global energy market. @antoniocosta.euco and I recalled that the immediate priority is to keep energy flows moving, especially navigation through the Strait of Hormuz - critical for the global economy. Enforcing the oil price cap will help stabilise markets and limit Russia’s revenues. This is not the moment to relax sanctions on Russia. We both welcomed today’s decision by the IEA to make 400 million barrels of emergency reserve oil available to ease tensions in global energy supply. We agreed to work closely with partners in the region to prevent broadening of the conflict and restore stability.

There is hope that this moment can open a path towards a free Iran. That is what the Iranian people deserve : freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future. But allow me to make one important point. Seeing the world as it is in no way diminishes our determination to fight for the world we want.

To seek peace in today’s world, Europe must be able to project power. Power to deter. To counter threats. And to increase our influence. This means investing in the means to protect our territory, economy, democracy and way of life. Security must be our default mindset, shaping all our assets and policies. This vision will be at the heart of our new European Security Strategy. We can build a European foreign policy that makes us stronger at home. More influential globally. And a better partner to countries around the world.

🏅 Last Friday, I had the pleasure and honour of awarding the medal for 20 years of service to some of our colleagues at the @europeancommission. I am grateful to work alongside such remarkable and dedicated women and men who truly have Europe at heart. To all of you, I want to say: thank you for your service. Over the past 20 years, each of you has contributed to improving the daily lives of people across Europe.

On International Women’s Day, I pay tribute to girls and women everywhere who continue to fight oppression with relentless strength, with unbreakable courage. This strength and courage live within all of us. The power is in us.

Today, I hosted the first meeting of a special panel on child safety online. In Europe, tech platforms already have a responsibility to ensure the safety of users. But we must also do more to protect and empower our young people online. This is the aim of the special panel. We will work intensely with experts and stakeholders, including our youth, to forge a strong and realistic European approach to keep our children safe in the digital age. By the summer, the special panel will publish its recommendations for further action.

🇪🇺🇳🇱 Looking forward to working closely together! Especially on our unwavering support to Ukraine and our agenda for a strong, independent and competitive Europe. We will see each other very soon for an important European Council.

🌊 To protect our ocean, we need to know it better. So we have presented OceanEye, a major initiative for ocean observation. OceanEye will collect the data needed to understand the state of the ocean. Predict and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Enhance the competitiveness of our economic activities at sea. And contribute to our maritime security. Join the movement 🌊

The situations remains volatile. But three things are noteworthy.

🇪🇺🤝🇨🇭 We’ve just signed new agreements to upgrade our partnership with Switzerland 🎉 What does this mean? ✨ An easier life for people who live, work and study across our borders 👩‍🎓 Students can study across borders without extra fees 📊 More secure conditions for businesses in a 460 million strong market 🥦 A common food safety area to keep safe what’s on your plate 🔌 Closer energy links to help keep electricity flowing reliably 🌍 More joint research and innovation projects, and EU programmes like Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ Neighbours by geography, partners by choice. We are strengthening our shared future together. 🇪🇺🇨🇭

Our statement on Iran.

The Baltic States are facing a multitude of challenges. We must support these regions and show our solidarity. With our Eastern border regions strategy, we're investing in their strength. Because this is where our Union's security, resilience and stability lies.

We can never match the sacrifices of the Ukrainian people. But we can match their stamina with our enduring support. It was my 10th time in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. And as always, I was so impressed by the courage and the incredible of our friends, partners and neighbours.

Russia is trying to freeze Ukraine into submission. They won't succeed. In Kyiv 🇺🇦 today, President von der Leyen has shown that our commitment remains as unshaken by Russian terror as the Ukrainian people. To stabilise the energy system, we've launched a €920 million ‘Repair, Rebuild, Restart’ plan, adding to the 11,000 generators already delivered. We are helping Ukraine resist until peace is restored on Ukraine’s terms. #StandWithUkraine

A key geopolitical security guarantee for Ukraine — and for Europe as a whole — is Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

Today, four years ago Russia started its full-scale and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. Once again, we pay tribute to the brave people of Ukraine, who continue to resist and defend their country. The European Union has stood firmly with Ukraine and its people from the very first day of Russia’s aggression. The future of a secure and prosperous Ukraine lies in the European Union. Ukraine can count on our full support on its EU accession and on its post-war reconstruction. We stand firm with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace. For a strong and sovereign Ukraine in a strong Europe.

On this grim anniversary, we paid tribute to the fallen heroes of Ukraine at Maidan. I am also thinking of their comrades, bravely holding the line in the trenches. Fighting for peace. Fighting for a better future for their children. Fighting for a free and sovereign Ukraine, at the heart of a free Europe.