Turbulence the new normal, says European Commission prez

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned on Friday that global disruptions and volatility are the "new normal", with more geo-economic tensions on the horizon.

"2024 will be a decisive year, with more geo-economic tensions expected -- from the Red Sea to the Taiwan Strait -- which also means more frequent disruptions to supply chains and greater volatility on the energy markets," she told a climate conference in Hamburg. "International competition is becoming harder. That is the new normal that we have to deal with."

More frequent extreme weather events added to the mix means Europe needs to pull together "as never before" to face the challenges.


The 27-nation bloc, she assessed, had reacted quickly to curb its dependence on Russian gas after Moscow's fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The emergency meant that the EU was likely to be generating more energy from wind and solar than from gas this year. But von der Leyen said energy prices needed to come down further, and she urged the "right investment decisions" to make that happen.