EU chief sets out her vision for Europe's future in a key speech watched by Canada's Mark Carney

BRUSSELS -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday set out her priorities for the European Union in the next year, including closer ties with Canada, protection for children online, climate change and Russia’s war on Ukraine.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was the special guest as von der Leyen spent well over an hour setting out her vision for the world’s largest trading bloc in her State of the European Union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.The speech also touched on the future of artificial intelligence, several worrying drone incidents on EU territory, conflict across the Middle East and international trade tensions.Last year, she said Europe must stake out its independence as the U.S. continued to impose tariffs on nations and the Trump administration in the U.S. criticized the bloc’s migration policies, warning of “civilizational erasure.”“Europe is in a fight,” von der Leyen said. “A fight for our values and our democracies.”The event has become an annual ritual modeled on the State of the Union addresses to Congress by U.S. presidents, but it was not broadcast widely and few of the European Union’s 450 million citizens ac...