Von der Leyen carries Canada into club as EU sinks into cost crisis: As it happened

We listened to the bloc chief so you don’t have to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for more EU power over security, social control, and militarization, while announcing tighter restrictions on Russia, avoiding Israel, and unilaterally making Canada special, during her sixth state of the union set-piece.

Key calls include: A new security architecture that extends beyond the EU to include the UK and Canada Further militarization of the EU and unilateral diversion of unused loan funding to Kiev A bloc-wide group focusing on stockpiling critical minerals and rare earth materials Expansion of the EU staff in Brussels Rebooting nuclear power generation, despite having overseen the shutdown of the industry Radical investment in AI and the required energy grid to support it An EU kids act to restrict access to social media and more censorship by her own online team In the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former Bank of England chief and a poster-boy for anti-Trump posturing, von der Leyen unilaterally announced that Canada would be granted ‘Associate Membership’ – a status without any legal definition.

Carney had, according to the Financial Times this morning, hoped for more.

She offered no solutions to the energy crisis consuming the bloc, nor did she offer solutions to the cost crisis crippling consumers as the bloc moves into winter.

READ MORE: Von der Leyen’s lines: what the EU chief didn’t say in her state of union This live feed has now ended.