“Ten years after the crisis hit, the European economy is in full swing: we are in the fifth consecutive year of economic growth and now growth in the euro area is +2,2%, close to that of the United States“: with these words of great confidence, the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker opened his annual State of the Union address before the plenary of the European Parliament. "A year ago we weren't in good shape but the European Union has shown that we can deliver and the wind is back in our sails," said Juncker.
ECONOMY – “We have a window of opportunity but it won't last forever – he added -, we have to use this time to finish what we started in Bratislava and complete our positive agenda. The economy picks up in each country and expands. 8 million new jobs have been created and 230 million Europeans are in work, more than they were before the crisis”, said the president of the European executive again. "Now is the time to build a more integrated European Union with an eye to 2025", whose keywords will be - according to the objectives set by the EU - hope and renewal. On the subject of work, Juncker put on the table the proposal for a supervisory authority for labor market mobility. The three priorities are freedom, equal opportunities and the rule of law.
TRADE AGREEMENTS – Juncker then spoke on the subject of trade agreements: "The European Union has its doors open to trade but there must be reciprocity", said the president of the EU Commission, recalling that trade is also "the export of social policies and that, on the practical plan, every billion euros of extra exports is equivalent to 14 extra jobs”. However, “We are not naïve defenders of free trade”, Juncker said during the State of the Union address proposing an “examination of foreign investment proposals in strategic sectors, bringing for example the cases of purchases of a strategic port, an energy company or one of the strategic defense companies , which can only be done with a transparent debate”.
SUPER MINISTER - Another important issue, which Juncker had anticipated by putting a road map in black and white, concerns the reform of the EMU, the economic and monetary union. The Commission will propose to transform the European Stability Mechanism into a real European Monetary Fund, to create a eurozone budget and to develop eurobonds, albeit "without debt mutualisation". On the Banking Union front, the goal is to put the European Deposit Insurance System into practice. By 2025, then, Juncker would like to see the creation of a European minister for the economy and finance.
MIGRANTS – “Europe will remain a continent of solidarity, we are not a fortress. This is why I am saddened that some leaders are not showing solidarity. Having said that, people who do not have the right to arrive in Europe must return to their countries of origin". Juncker also confirmed his utmost appreciation for the role played by Italy: "I am in close contact with Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Italy is saving Europe's honour", said the president of the EU commission, reiterating a concept already expressed a few months ago. “Irregular immigration will only stop when migrants have another choice – concluded Juncker – than to embark on a dangerous journey. But only 35% of migrants are irregular”.
MEMBERSHIP – “Turkey will not join Europe, at least in the short term. Journalists must be part of a debate, they must not go to jail. I'm not talking only about ours, but also about the local ones. From Ankara, stop calling our leaders Nazis and fascists. We are a continent of mature democracies”. Juncker has thus closed the doors to Turkey for now, however extending his hand for the future "to the great people of Turkey". As for new members, the president of the commission took it for granted that at the end of his mandate there will be more than 27 member countries and the eurozone will also be more numerous: “Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria are ready to adopt the euro”.
