DER SPIEGEL: Where do you see Europe from a geopolitical perspective? In third place behind the U.S. and China?

Von der Leyen: I don't see it as a vertical arrangement. I am convinced that fundamentally, we are on the same side of the table as the Americans, even if we may disagree on some issues internally.

DER SPIEGEL: You plan on visiting U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming weeks. During your tenure as German defense minister, you had harsh words of criticism for Trump on occasion - for his comments about NATO, for example, but also for his closeness with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Will you continue using the same tone with him?

Von der Leyen: That was early on in his term and a lot has changed since then. His comment at the time that NATO was obsolete triggered the necessary momentum in Europe to modernize NATO and to get the ball rolling toward a European Defense Union. It became clear to the Eastern Europeans that we also had to develop military structures within the EU.

DER SPIEGEL: There are a variety of different ways to approach Trump. Your predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker was able to gain a modicum of respect through his chummy style. What is your strategy?

Von der Leyen: I'm going to go into the meeting with a completely open mind. When it comes to initial meetings, a lot depends on intuition. I know the Americans well. I spent time in the U.S. during my schooling and later lived there for several years. Two of my children are American citizens. As such, I have a sense for the unique perspective of America and the Americans. [...]

DER SPIEGEL: The U.S. has threatened to slap punitive tariffs on German cars. Among your most ambitious goals is the European Green Deal, which includes a CO2 border tax designed to protect European companies. Isn't that just an emulation of Trump's use of trade policy as a weapon?

Von der Leyen: It is completely normal for Europe and the U.S. to defend their own interests. The reasoning behind the CO2 border tax is quite simple. To take one example, we in Europe are working towards CO2-neutral steel production in a few years. That will result in a clean product that will benefit the global climate and will likely be a bit more expensive. We cannot allow Europe to be flooded at the same time with cheap, perhaps state-subsidized steel from China that is produced in a less environmentally friendly manner. To create a level playing field, we either need a CO2 border tax or China can introduce an emissions trading scheme, which would be even better. [...]

DER SPIEGEL: Another conflict with the U.S. centers around the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Washington is demanding that EU countries not rely on the company when it comes to expanding the 5G network. You are planning to submit proposals on the issue soon. What do they look like?

Von der Leyen: Together with all member states, we have collected ideas with the goal of arriving at a common European position. The 5G and 6G infrastructures are critical technologies for the secure flow of data in Europe, for our economy, for public administration and for the private sector. We aren't focused on a single company, rather we as the EU want to develop fundamental standards. One of these standards has to be that the companies that provide us with these highly sensitive technologies are independent and cannot be coerced by their governments to provide data. [...]

DER SPIEGEL: You are demanding that Europe play a more self-confident role on the world stage. Yet the EU is in the process of losing a strong partner. Britain isn't just one of the largest economies in the EU but also one of two permanent members of the UN Security Council from Europe and one of two nuclear powers in Europe. How severely does Brexit weaken EU foreign and security policy?

Von der Leyen: The consequences of Brexit will actually be less severe when it comes to foreign and security policy. In contrast to other areas, the British were extremely reserved when it came to joint security policy and blocked some advances within the EU. That is why the European Defense Union could only really get going after the Brexit referendum. Both sides, though, are now eager to establish close cooperation.

DER SPIEGEL: The British government would like to secure a comprehensive deal on future relations by the end of 2020. Is that realistic?

Von der Leyen: It is a major concern of mine because time is extremely short for the vast number of questions that have to be negotiated. It's not just about trade policy, but also about security issues and fishing rights, to name just a couple of examples. That is why we want to initially focus on issues where the lack of a deal could create the largest problems due to the absence of international rules that would apply in the case of a hard Brexit.

DER SPIEGEL: The Brexiteers have promised that the United Kingdom will be better off without the EU. If Brexit is, indeed, successful, it could become something that populists from other countries in Europe will seek to emulate.

Von der Leyen: It's not the countless promises that matter, but reality. The Brexit drama has already become a bitter lesson for all those populists who have fantasized about leaving the EU. One after the other, they have silently buried their erstwhile strident demands for "Grexit," "Dexit" or "Frexit." Over the last five years, the international situation has shown that it isn't helpful for any country to stand completely on its own. The EU must now forge ahead. Brexit has cost a lot of political capital. Just think of the many nights in the European Council during which Brexit was discussed instead of important issues like the climate, migration or the further integration of the internal market. [...]

DER SPIEGEL: There are issues such as migration on which the EU is in complete disagreement. Heads of government like Viktor Orbán of Hungary are quite happy to benefit from the EU financially but are otherwise opposed to almost everything for which Europe stands. Your political role model Wolfgang Schäuble once spoke of a two-speed Europe. Do all countries really have to participate in everything together? Or would it perhaps make sense to disengage from someone like Orbán and give up the principle of unanimity?

Von der Leyen: I don't think that is a good idea. The European Union is the most diverse and livable place on the planet because it has consistently been able to translate diverse interests and cultural currents into a shared movement. We shouldn't be so merciless with ourselves. The EU has grown in the last several years, and I don't mean just economically. Take a look at the General Data Protection Regulation, for example. By adopting it, we established a new standard for the entire world in support of a form of digitalization that starts with individuals and seeks to respect the rights of people. That is the correct path: debate with each-other, but stay together. It's not always easy, but Europe arrives at a fair settlement, while in the U.S. things are frequently imbalanced in favor of the market or, in China, the state. [...]

Full interview on DER SPIEGEL