European president warns world’s ‘comfort blanket’ has been ripped away by Russia, China, Iran

The world has had its “comfort blanket” ripped away and learned that distance no longer provides safety when economic dependencies can be weaponised, Europe’s president has warned Australian politicians.

Against the backdrop of war in the Middle East, Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the increasing willingness of China to wield its economic power, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said like-minded countries had to get over the “indulgence” of believing they could escape events on the other side of the world.

“The world we live in is brutal, harsh and unforgiving. It feels upside down. What we knew as certainties are in question. The comfort blanket of yesterday is ripped away. It is confronting,” she said in an address to Parliament on Tuesday.

“One of the indulgences of past decades has been to think that our world and our interests can be defined by our neighbourhood.

“Nowhere proves that more false than Australia. It can take us more than 24 hours to fly here, but so many of the issues that challenge you in Perth are the same as in Paris.”

However, she said the new world was also “a more honest one” where leaders were saying aloud how things had changed.

Ms von der Leyen’s address followed that by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney a fortnight ago, and the visit from Denmark’s King Frederik and Queen Mary with a large business delegation last week.

Australia has been seeking to strengthen ties beyond its traditional alliances amid an increasingly uncertain future on both the geostrategic and economic fronts.

“The regions that we call home, the Indo-Pacific and Europe, are less predictable, but they’re more interconnected than ever before,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a joint press conference with the European leader.

“The best way of navigating this reality is for us to do more together.”

Ms von der Leyen put it differently, telling “dear Tony” that, “If you zoom out on the map, the distance between us stands out. If you zoom in (on) what unites us, the distance disappears.”

But the ongoing economic shocks from wars in Ukraine and now the Middle East, and China’s increasing willingness to exert pressure meant that all countries had to make sure they weren’t reliant on just one partner for vital supplies, she said.

The US-Israel-Iran war and the effective closure of the vital oil routes through the Strait of Hormuz had again made the point.

“None of us is immune to the shocks, both geopolitical and economic, that the war in Iran brings to our populations. Pain at the pump is hard for our citizens, and just another reminder that building our resilience is today’s job,” Ms von der Leyen said.

“With geopolitics at a boiling point, we know firsthand that the more you build homegrown energy, the sooner you get independent and thus can shield yourself from energy price shocks.

“We are in a race to electrify our economies.”

She also said that for both Europe and Australia, “getting China right is a strategic imperative” now that all sides had realised that “dependencies can be weaponised”.

Earlier, Ms von der Leyen called for the US and Iran to talk in earnest about ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran has to cease, immediately, its threats, laying of mines, drones and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping,” she said.

“We think that it is time to go to the negotiation table and to end the hostilities.

“The situation is critical for the energy supply worldwide. We all feel the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices, our businesses and our societies.”