European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged on Wednesday to vote in the European elections, less than a year away, to decide “the kind of Europe” you want and guarantee that you get 90% have kept your promises.
“In just under 300 days, Europeans will go to the polls in our unique and remarkable democracy. As with any election, it will be a time for people to reflect on the state of our Union and the work done by those who represent it. but it will also be a moment for them to decide what kind of future and what kind of Europe they want,” Ursula von der Leyen declared in her 2023 State of the Union speech at the European Parliament plenary session. , in the French city of Strasbourg.
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For the fourth time since taking office, the last in this term, the leader of the community administration appealed to the votes of the youngest, who are voting for the first time, noting that among the voters of the European elections in June 2024 be “the youngest, born in 2008, the year of the financial crisis”.
“When they are in the voting booth, they will think about what is important to them. They will think about the war raging on our borders or the impact of destructive climate change, about how artificial intelligence will affect their lives or about their chances of getting a house or a job in the coming years,” he said.
This speech, an annual exercise marking the start of the parliamentary year, comes four years after the election of Von der Leyen – who began her first term as head of the community administration in December 2019 – and less than a year before the European 2024 elections, scheduled for June.
The official took stock of her mandate so far and assured that with her team she has fulfilled “more than 90% of the political directives” she presented in 2019, with ‘green’, digital and geopolitical bets.
This is the first speech with sign language interpretation.
The European Commission opens an investigation into subsidies for Chinese electric cars
Ursula von der Leyen announced the opening of an investigation into subsidies for electric cars from China.
“Look at the electric vehicle sector. It is a crucial industry for a green economy, with great potential for Europe. But global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars. And their prices are kept artificially low by huge state subsidies.” , said the President of the Commission, speaking in the debate on the State of the Union in the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France).
Von der Leyen therefore announced that “the Commission will open an investigation into subsidies for electric cars from China” as the subsidies “distort” the European market.
“Europe is open to competition, not to a race to the bottom,” he added.
Brussels wants to use wind energy in industry
The European Commission will present a legislative package on wind energy to achieve increasingly clean industries, in collaboration with industry and Member States, within the scope of the European Ecological Pact.
In her speech to the European Parliament, the president of the community council, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that Brussels will focus “on skills, access to finance and stable supply chains”.
“But this is broader than one sector. From wind energy to steel, from batteries to electric vehicles, our ambition is very clear: the future of our clean technology industry must be made in Europe,” he added.
Stressing that European industry will continue to receive support in the green transition, Von der Leyen said the solar sector has been hit by “China’s unfair trade practices.”
Europe, he said, remains on track on the green transition: “We remain ambitious, we remain true to our growth strategy and we will fight for a fair and just transition.”
‘Another major economic challenge is the persistence of high inflation’
The president of the European Commission admitted that high inflation in the European Union is a “major economic challenge” that will “take some time” to solve, and announced a report on European competitiveness.
“Another major economic challenge is the persistence of high inflation. Christine Lagarde [presidente] and the European Central Bank [BCE] working hard to keep inflation under control, [mas] We know that it will take some time to return to the ECB’s medium-term objective,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
The official cited “three major economic challenges for the sector next year.”
It concerns the “labor and skills shortages, inflation” and the need to “facilitate business activities”, in a context of limited economic growth, the consequences of the war in Ukraine and a tight monetary policy that restricts access to finance makes it difficult.
Such challenges, according to the community leader, arise at a time when industry is also being asked to lead the clean transition, meaning it is urgent to “look to the future” and define how the EU can be competitive can stay.
For this reason, Von der Leyen asked Mario Draghi, former president of the ECB, “one of Europe’s greatest economic minds, to prepare a report on the future of European competitiveness”.
The inflation rate has fallen in recent months after registering historical values due to the reopening of the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy crisis and the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, but is still above the stated target of 2% ECB for price stability.
To achieve this, the ECB has tightened monetary policy with successive rate hikes, now at a slower pace.
Source: DN
