As she enters the final year of her term, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claims she has already managed to ‘realize’ almost the entire program she committed to four years ago. President Von der Leyen gave her last State of the Union speech of the current term this Wednesday.
In the final stretch before the European elections, Von der Leyen waved to young Europeans, especially those “millions who voted for the first time”.
“Among these voters, millions will vote for the first time, the youngest of whom were born in 2008,” Von der Leyen emphasized, citing the uncertainties these voters face: “They will think about the war that is destroying our borders , or the destructive impact of climate change, the ways in which artificial intelligence will affect their lives, or their chances of finding a home or a job in the future.”
Balance
Summarizing her mandate, Von der Leyen stated that over the past four years we have “witnessed the birth of a geopolitical Union,” highlighting the examples of “Ukraine’s support against Russian aggression” and in response “to a assertive and with investments in partnerships”.
In the field of environmental policy, he stressed the importance of the European Ecological Pact “as a central element of the economy”, pointing to “an unparalleled ambition” for the relaunch of the European industrial fabric. “We have paved the way for the digital transition and become global pioneers in digital rights,” said the Commission President.
On the other hand, as part of the response to the crisis caused by the pandemic, Von der Leyen highlighted the “historic European instrument” for the recovery of the economy, “which combines 800 billion euros in investments and reforms and creates decent jobs for today and for tomorrow”.
In the chapter on the response to the pandemic, the President of the Commission states that the foundation has been laid for the creation of a European Health Union, involving “the European contribution” to the vaccination “of the entire continent and large parts of the world”. emphasizes. world”. On the other hand, he emphasizes that the path “towards greater independence in critical sectors, such as energy, integrated circuits or raw materials” has begun.
On gender equality, von der Leyen welcomed “the revolutionary and groundbreaking work” of the Commission and Parliament, which made it possible to “complete files that many thought were blocked forever, such as the directive on women on boards of directors and the EU’s historic accession to the Istanbul Convention”.
In a statement that drew much applause from Members of the European Parliament, Von der Leyen declared that “with the Pay Transparency Directive we have enshrined in law the basic principle of equal pay for equal work” as “there is no argument that the fact that a woman doing the same type of work receives a lower salary than that of a man.”
Acknowledging that “the work is far from complete”, he promised to “enshrine another basic principle in legislation: No, no!”. “There can be no real equality as long as there is violence,” he emphasized.
In the report she presented in Strasbourg, Von der Leyen states that “thanks to this Parliament, the Member States and my team of Commissioners, we have achieved more than 90% of the political guidelines I presented in 2019”.
Competition
Von der Leyen announced an initiative against Chinese state aid to the electric car industry, “a crucial sector for the clean economy, with enormous potential in Europe”. But now that global markets are being “flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, the price of which is kept artificially low thanks to massive state subsidies,” the result is “market distortion.”
“Just as we will not accept this disruption from within our market, we will not accept it from without. Therefore (…) the Commission will launch an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from China,” he announced.
Projecting the last year of her mandate, Ursula von der Leyen defends that the climate transition threatens European industry, “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 underlined, emphasizing that “this is the mission” of the Commission he leads.
Energy and inflation
In the current context, recognizing that the correction of inflation will still “take some time”, despite the “efforts” of ECB President Christine Lagarde, Ursula emphasizes “the good news”, that Europe “has started is to reduce inflation”. energy prices”, but “we have not forgotten Putin’s use of gas as a weapon of war and how this triggered fears of a blackout and energy crisis like in the 1970s”.
Artificial intelligence
In the chapter on artificial intelligence, von der Leyen argued that companies must act responsibly, and that “Europe must lead a new global framework”, ensuring that technological development is “human-centred”.
Ukraine
The war in Ukraine was one of the themes that was ever present during the speech. Von der Leyen wanted to make it clear and reaffirmed that the European Union “will always be by Ukraine’s side, for as long as necessary.”
Responding to what she considers “a call from history,” Von der Leyen announced that “the Commission will propose extending the temporary protection regime to Ukrainians in the EU.”
“Since the beginning of the war, four million Ukrainians have found shelter in our Union. And I want to tell them that they are just as welcome today as they were in those fateful first weeks. We guarantee them access to housing, healthcare, the employment market and much more,” he said.
Source: DN
