In his speech, Urzula von der Leiena (the second from the right) named only one person – the Italian Beatrice Vio (in the center). Her life was in danger in April. Beatrice operated, she fought for survival, recovered and won a gold medal in the Paralympic Games 119 days after discharge from the hospital. “Her story is an example of how to do the impossible,” Leiena described.
Photo: EC AV Service
18:56, September 17, 2021
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Ivars Bušmanis, “Latvijas Avīze”, JSC “Latvijas Mediji”
Addressing MEPs, European Commission President Urzula von der Leiena began the annual report on the state of the EU on Wednesday emotionally. She has seen “in everything we do” “manifest the power of the spirit” and that “the human spirit, the human soul, has shone through the trials.”
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Urzula von der Leiena did not recall the chaos and national egoism at the beginning of the pandemic, but stated: “We chose to stay together. As a united Europe. And we can be proud of that – in the worst global health crisis of the century, the deepest economic crisis in decades, and the worst climate crisis ever. ”
In her speech, she divided everything she did into several sections: the health crisis, economic recovery, digitalisation, social cohesion, the Green Course, post-pandemic geopolitics, migration, and the future of Europe.
MEPs responded, supported, suggested and criticized the debate. Most tried to talk about everything and could not say anything in the few minutes they had. As usual, opposition MPs encouraged and supplemented, criticized and denied.
The Health Union begins to work
The President of the EC was rightly proud that the goal set at the beginning of the year to fully vaccinate at least 70 percent of the adult population in the European Union has been achieved. And immediately, without calling Latvia, he expressed concern about the differences in the scope of vaccination in different countries. “We will do everything in our power to ensure that the current situation does not turn into a pandemic of the unvaccinated population,” she said.
Half of the vaccines produced in the EU have been offered by the EC to 130 other countries. “The European team is investing a billion euros to increase mRNA vaccine production capacity in Africa,” said Leiena. The EC is already committed to sharing 250 million doses and will donate another 200 million by the middle of next year.
The European Health Union announced in last year’s speech is slowly coming to fruition. The EC proposes the establishment of the EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Agency HERA and an investment of € 50 billion by 2027. The rapid creation of an EU digital certificate is also proof of the EU’s health union, with more than 400 million certificates created in Europe.
The economy is returning to pre-crisis levels
Staying together was called the only possible option in the economic crisis with the creation of the NextGenerationEU instrument. 31 million workers and 2.5 million companies in Europe received support from the SURE instrument.
“We learned from the past when we were too divided and our actions were delayed,” Leiena concluded. “The difference is obvious: the last time it took eight years for the eurozone’s GDP to return to pre-crisis levels. This time, GDP in 19 countries is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year and the rest next year. “
As a counterweight to China’s One Lane, One Way initiative, the EC promises a new Global Gateway connectivity strategy through joint partnerships with countries around the world.
Digitization – the key to success
Digitization costs from the NextGenerationEU instrument will exceed the set minimum of 20%. The President of the EC pointed out the backwardness of European semiconductor production, where we have become dependent on chip manufacturers in Asia. The EC will present a new European Chips Act, which aims to create a state-of-the-art European chip ecosystem that will include manufacturing.
To those who say it is overdue, Leiena reminded that the same was said 20 years ago about the Galileo satellite navigation system. “Today, European satellites provide navigation systems to more than two billion smartphone users worldwide.”
Job exchange program for young people
In her speech, Leiena expanded her understanding of social justice. In addition to jobs, working conditions, health care and work-life balance, she suggested thinking about loved ones: “Nothing is more valuable than the time we spend on our loved ones. That is why we will propose a new European Care Strategy. “
The second extension of social justice – for a fairer tax policy – was a surprise, as it targets ‘shell companies’ and offshore firms and proposes the same corporate tax. “We will propose legislation to help uncover hidden profits that are disguised in letterbox companies. And we will do our best to reach a historic global agreement on minimum corporate tax rates, ”promised Leiena.
Instead, there is an EC proposal for those who are “not noticed by the system”: those who do not have a job and who do not study anywhere. “We will offer them a new ALMA program, which will give young people the opportunity to gain temporary work experience in another Member State, a job exchange program similar to the Erasmus student exchange program,” she said.
The greener the environment, the poorer the population?
This European Commission will undoubtedly go down in history with the Green Course it has announced and launched. “And change is already happening,” said Leiena, citing the example of her native Germany, where more electric cars than diesel cars were registered in the first half of this year. But she did not say that in Germany, coal is again getting more energy than wind…
“We are the first major economy to come up with comprehensive legislation to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030,” she boasted. This was followed by the greenest announcement of the day that the EU would double its external funding for biodiversity, especially for the most vulnerable countries.
However, many MEPs doubted that it would be so quick and expensive. Irače Garcia (Socialist Group, Spain) said that in the transition to a green economy, “we have not done enough to ensure the well-being of our citizens”, noting that the crisis has exacerbated inequalities. Jorg Meuthen (ID Group, Germany) criticized the “huge spending plans” for the Green Course, the Recovery Fund and the reduction of carbon emissions that EU citizens will ultimately have to pay for.
“That is why we proposed the creation of a new Social Climate Fund to tackle the problem of energy poverty, which already affects 34 million Europeans,” Leiena replied.
A European Defense Union is needed
The transition to a new international order is underway, Leiena concluded. “We have entered a new era of hyper-competition, in which all means are good for some good effects: from vaccine promises and high-interest loans to missiles and misleading information.”
She did not cite Afghanistan as the cause of this change, but as a symptom. That is why she, together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, is drafting a new EU-NATO Joint Declaration. There are three reasons for this: firstly, we need to ensure stability in our neighborhood and in the various regions. Second, the nature of the threats is evolving rapidly, from hybrid or cyber attacks to the growing arms race in space. The third reason is that there will be missions in which NATO or the UN do not participate, but which require an EU presence.
“We can wake up in a world we don’t want to live in,” said Manfred Weber (chairman of the Group of the European People’s Party, Germany) in the debate. “Pandemic response is needed in other areas, including defense.” He recommends strengthening European defense by setting up a rapid reaction force and transforming Europol into a European FMO.
“We need a European Defense Union,” Leiena said, noting that the EU could set up its own Common Situation Awareness Center. Secondly, cooperation on the creation of common European platforms for the military industry, from aircraft to drones, must be improved. She proposed abolishing VAT on the purchase of defense equipment designed and manufactured in Europe.
A common migration policy must be found
Unexpectedly, but hopefully, the focus of migration problems has shifted from the Mediterranean and the Middle East to our region. Assessing the policy pursued by Belarus, the President of the EC said: “Let’s put it in the right words: this is a hybrid attack aimed at destabilizing Europe. And the rapid European response confirms this. Rest assured that we will continue to support Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. ”
Speaking in a broader context (“We saw similar incidents at other borders. And we can expect to see them again.”), Leiena stressed the need to find a common denominator for migration management, otherwise “our opponents will continue to use it for their own purposes.” I think this is the right time for European migration management policy. “
Looking forward to youth
When asked by Jacques Delors, how can Europe do if young people do not see it as a common project and do not see ourselves as expressing their future? She was indebted to the young people imprisoned in the pandemic and now waiting for them to take part in a conference on the future of Europe, offering new job and training opportunities and proposing to celebrate 2022 as the European Year of Youth.
To be continued
At the same time, Urzula von der Leiena sent a letter of intent to the Speaker of the Parliament, Sasoli, and to the Slovenian Prime Minister, Janš, of the Presidency, outlining the European Commission ‘s key initiatives for next year, a total of 33.
HIGHLIGHTS
A pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint.
If a crisis abroad is not resolved in time, it will reach you.
You can disrupt the election with your smartphone and internet connection.
If everything is connected, everything can be broken.
We want to create links, not addictions!
Human rights are not sold at any price.
The most important messages
Our first and most urgent priority is to speed up the vaccination process in the world.
The digital sphere is the key to success, mistakes can be costly.
We are world leaders. So let us dare again – this time in the field of semiconductors!
Nothing is more valuable than the time we spend with our loved ones. That is why we will propose a new European Care Strategy.
The goal is simple. We will set the price for pollution. We will clean up the energy we consume. We will have smarter cars and cleaner planes.
We will now propose an additional EUR 4 billion for climate finance by 2027. However, we expect the United States and our partners to increase their investment as well.
We need a European Defense Union.
Europe can redesign its model to connect the world. We will soon launch our new Global Gateway connectivity strategy.
We will propose a ban on forced labor products on our market.
Women need to regain a say in their lives. By the end of the year, we will propose legislation to combat such violence.
Information is a public good. Next year, we will propose legislation on media freedom.
Themes
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