In his last State of the Union Address before the European elections in June, the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, takes stock of his mandate which will expire next summer and claims the work done, including the Green Deal and the Recovery Plan. A report that also seems to be the confirmation of a re-nomination at the top of the EU complete with the slogan: "If it is important for Europeans, it is important for Europe". Then two announcements, the first of which concerns us directly: the president asked the former Prime Minister and former number one of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi of an analysis on the competitiveness of the EU, bringing his figure back to the center of the European scene one year and two months after his resignation as President of the Italian Council. Von der Leyen also made it known that Brussels is getting started an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from China.
The European elections
“These elections will be an opportunity for European citizens to reflect on the state of the Union, but also to decide what future they want for Europe,” said von der Leyen, opening his speech on the State of the Union before the Plenary of Parliament EU, in Strasbourg. Then claimed the results of this five-year period: “Look where Europe is today: we saw the birth of a geopolitical Union, which supported Ukraine, countered the Russian invasion and responded to China's assertiveness. The Green Deal it is the center of our economy. We have set up the green deal and approved the next generation EU. “We have shown that when the EU is united, it achieves its objectives.”
Green Deal and sustainable agriculture
“We are staying the course on the European Green Deal. We remain ambitious. We maintain our growth strategy. And we will always strive for a just and equitable transition." “As we enter the next phase of the European Green Deal, one thing will never change: we will continue to support European industry during this transition,” he added.
Regarding agriculture, von der Leyen announced that the European Commission will present “a package of European measures on wind energy, in close coordination with industry and member countries”
“We will further accelerate the issuing of permits – he added – We will improve auction systems throughout the EU”. “Many are already working for more sustainable agriculture. We must work together with the men and women of agriculture to face these new challenges. It is the only way to guarantee food supplies for the future. We need more dialogue and less polarization. This is why we want to start a strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU. I am and remain convinced that agriculture and the protection of the natural world can go hand in hand."
The request to Draghi
“Our Union today reflects the vision of those who dreamed of a better future after the Second World War. A future where a Union of nations, democracies and people would work together to share peace and prosperity. They believed that Europe was the answer to history's call." For this reason "Europe, once again, must respond to the call of history". And it is precisely the future of the European economy that the request that Von der Leyen made to the former Italian Prime Minister looks to. “”Three challenges – jobs, inflation and the business environment – come at a time when we are also calling on industry to lead the clean transition. We must therefore look forward and determine how to remain competitive while we do it. For this reason I asked Mario Draghi – one of Europe's great economic minds – to prepare a report on the future of European competitiveness” said von der Leyen who then also quotes the now very famous “whatever it takes”, using the same words spoken by Draghi in July 2012. “Europe will do everything necessary, he said.
Lagarde on inflation
“Christine Lagarde and the ECB are working hard to keep inflation under control. We know that the return to the ECB's medium-term objective will take time,” said von der Leyen, highlighting the “major economic challenge” of “persistently high” inflation. “The good news is that Europe has started to reduce energy prices".
The anti-subsidies investigation against China
“The Commission is launching an investigation anti-subsidy in the electric vehicle sector from China“, said the president. “Global markets are flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars,” at prices “kept artificially low by large state subsidies.” This distorts our market. And since we don't accept it from the inside, we don't accept it from the outside,” she said. “Europe is open to competition. Not for a race to the bottom. We must defend ourselves from unfair practices."
Migrants and Ukraine
The management of migrants is "humane". This is von der Leyen's appeal to the plenary of the EU Parliament. “Our work on migration is based on the belief that unity is within our reach,” ensuring “safety and humanity. An agreement on the pact has never been closer. Parliament and the Council have a historic opportunity to overcome it. We show that Europe can manage migration effectively and compassionately.” said the president of the EU Commission as she launched the organization of one International conference on combating human trafficking. “We have signed a partnership with Tunisia that brings mutual benefits beyond migration: from energy and education, to skills and security. And now we want to work on similar agreements with other countries,” she added.
Then a reference to theUkraine “I am proud to announce that the Commission will propose to extend our temporary protection to Ukrainians in the EU. Our support for Ukraine will continue. This year alone we have provided 12 billion euros to help pay salaries and pensions. To help run hospitals, schools and other services. And with our Asap proposal we are increasing ammunition production to meet Ukraine's immediate needs,” von der Leyen announced.
Talking about the war, Von der Leyen once again condemned the invasion, calling it "an act contrary to the founding principles of the United Nations Charter" and denouncing how Moscow "is benefiting from the coups in the Sahel (in Sudan and Niger, ed.)", which is why it is necessary for the European Union "to show the same unity of purpose towards Africa that we have shown towards Ukraine". Including new legislation on immigration, also because "the current one now dates back 20 years".
Europe, declared the president, “has responded to the call of history: it is time to broaden and complete our Union”. Then, recalling the "great enlargement" of twenty years ago (when ten countries - Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia - signed the accession treaty), he claimed to see a future forEuropean Union with “thirty countries”, citing Ukraine, Moldova and Serbia. And that the Commission will work on adapting treaties and institutions for the entry of new member countries.
Artificial intelligence as a pillar
“The third pillar” of our strategy “is drive innovation responsibly. Thanks to our investments in recent years, Europe has become a leader in supercomputing, with 3 of the 5 most powerful supercomputers in the world. We must take advantage of this situation. That's why today I can announce a new initiative to open up our high-performance computers to AI startups to train their models,” von der Leyen announced.
Artificial intelligence “will improve healthcare, increase productivity, tackle climate change. But we must not underestimate the threats real – he warned. Hundreds of leading AI developers, academics and experts have warned us with the following words: Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.” .
