The Geopolitical Commission

This chapter reviews key literature and assesses main developments related to the European Commission’s geopolitical turn in two highly salient policy areas, defence and energy. It argues that in both areas, the groundwork for the geopolitical Commission was largely done before President Ursula von der Leyen’s mandate. However, international developments during her tenure, above all Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, catalysed the acceleration of the geopolitical turn. This was particularly evident in the energy sector, where after 2021 the Commission adopted several documents and strategies to end reliance on Russian fossil fuels and reduce dependence on China for critical minerals and green technology. In defence, external events helped the Commission to further solidify and extend the role it managed to acquire in the latter half of the 2010s. Nonetheless, the credibility and effectiveness of the Commission and the EU as geopolitical actors remain a matter of debate.