One quote in particular has been making the rounds since von der Leyen's name started floating as an option at the Council summit this week: "My aim is the United States of Europe — modelled on federal states like Switzerland, Germany or the U.S.," she told
Der Spiegel in 2011. She repeated her call for a federal EU in an
interview with Die Zeit in 2016, adding: "I imagine the Europe of my children or grandchildren not as a loose union of states trapped by national interests."As defense minister, she pushed for greater security cooperation in the EU, urging a "defense union" and
calling for the establishment of an "army of Europeans."