The chairman of the commission has not yet revealed whether he wants to continue for another 5-year term.
Yrjö Kokkonen,
Rikhard Husu
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver his annual State of the Union address today. The speech started at 10 o’clock Finnish time.
is following the speech and we highlight its key points in this article.
President von der Leyen began his speech by listing the achievements of the Commission he leads since 2019.
According to him, supporting Ukraine and actions against Russia have made the union more geopolitical.
Von der Leyen also emphasized the importance of the EU’s green transition for Europe’s economic development. The Commission has also promoted gender equality, von der Leyen stated. This means a lot to me as a woman, she said.
After speaking about gender equality, the chairman received applause.
Von der Leyen also highlighted the summer’s record heat. In his speech, he referred to the devastating wildfires in Greece and Spain and the floods that followed them. According to him, similar natural disasters are facts on a warming planet. The EU’s green transition is a way to respond to the challenge posed by climate change.
– The green transition arose from the need to protect our planet. But it is also a means of preserving our future prosperity, he stated.
According to von der Leyen, European industry supports the green transition. As an example of the change, von der Leyen pointed out steel plants producing clean coal, which could not be found in Europe even five years ago. Now there are 38 clean steel mills, he stated.
– We will support the industry throughout the transition, he promised.
From the green transition, the talk moved to dealing with Europe’s competitiveness. von der Leyen emphasized the importance of clean technologies for Europe’s competitiveness. He emphasized the importance of fair game rules in the international market. For example, he promoted the cheap electric cars produced in China, the price of which is maintained with the help of government subsidies.
– This distorts the market, von der Leyen said.
The EU is starting to study the possibilities of blocking China’s subsidy activities, he promised and received applause.
Nature and agriculture
After switching to German, von der Leyen spoke for the countryside, nature and biodiversity.
– Losing these forms of life would not only lose the basic conditions of the economy, but also people’s feeling of being at home.
According to him, nature conservation and agriculture must work together.
Von der Leyen also raised concerns related to the EU’s economy. According to him, there are three main obstacles to the EU’s economic growth: labor and skills shortages, inflation and the business challenges of companies. von der Leyen said Europe is close to full employment.
– Instead of millions looking for work, we have millions of jobs looking for their creator.
Does von der Leye want another season?
The next EU elections will be held in the summer of next year. Von der Leyen has not yet said whether he wants to continue as head of the Commission for the next 5-year term. However, it is believed that he will highlight his achievements in his speech.
The current EU election season has been full of storms. The Union has had to deal with the aftermath of Britain’s departure from the EU, the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis.
Von der Leyen is expected to outline how the Union plans to continue to take the war into account and support Ukraine against Russia’s attack.
In addition, Von der Leyen is expected to outline, for example, climate policy, relations with China, and various challenges related to the development of technology.
‘s EU correspondent Rikhard Husu follow the speech in Strasbourg.