After Merz's speech, von der Leyen was awarded the Charlemagne Prize.
Shortly afterwards, von der Leyen gave an address of what Europe means for her and how she views the way forward for the continent in the future.
Von der Leyen urged the building of an "independent Europe."
"The next great era, our next great, unifying project must be about an independent Europe," von der Leyen said.
She said this doesn't just mean the countries in the European Union, but also countries on the whole continent.
In light of "enormous" geopolitical tensions, von der Leyen asserted, "what we once took for granted as an international order has tranformed into international disorder within a very short time."
Von der Leyen: Europe 'must take matters in our own hands'
She said that Europe must "take matters into our own hands" and as she said the world order is once again characterized by "imperial striving for power and imperial wars."
Her comments come amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump sowing doubt on the future of the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance.
Von der Leyen said Europe must focus on tasks like defense and economic competiveness and also the strengthening of democracy. She also noted the possible assession of Ukraine, Moldova and West Balkan countries as a the "next historic reunification" of expanding the bloc.
