In response to President Donald Trump’s erratic global tariff policies, President of the European Commission Von der Leyen is betting big on the EU single market.
At a speech to the European Parliament on April 1st, Von der Leyen reiterated the importance of strengthening European competitiveness. While the competitiveness question has become arguably the central focus of her second term as the President of the European Commission, she also presented it as a key component in the strategic response to uncertainty in the transatlantic trade relationship. In her speech, Von der Leyen emphasised the need for the EU to not only diversify its external trade partners but to double down on optimising the single market based on the recommendations laid out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
