Europe must start defending itself and must also spend European money. Discuss financing techniques, but no one should doubt that a large common space requiring common funding is needed.” This was said by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during the Plenary, outlining the priorities of the Polish presidency. “Don’t be afraid,” Tusk emphasized, quoting Pope John Paul II, “the future is in our hands, not those of China or the USA.”
“Europe should not feel inferior; the words we should hear here in the Eurochamber should be directed to Europeans: ‘Europe was, is, and will always be great,'” he added.
“There is no reason for the EU to think it is in an existential crisis today. It is true that there have been massive changes, strengthening these feelings of uncertainty but, allow me to draw on my extensive experience: we have a left, a right, radical movements, a substantial center, we have fierce election campaigns but as Europeans, we are able to find our common space that unites us. This general political affiliation means that today you are here in this Chamber,” said Tusk, according to whom “in no way can what happens in the US justify a decline in this European spirit. The EU has the right to speak with the same conviction of its greatness” as elsewhere, “there is no reason to fear leaps in the dark.”
The Polish Prime Minister stated that “EU internal security can be addressed following European values; democracy must once again become strength. The EU must once again become synonymous with ethics but also with strength. Information security and respect for freedom of speech, in an era of misinformation and lies, are fundamental. We must adopt methods to end foreign interference in our elections; we must put an end to the factories of lies, especially Russian ones.”
“Competitiveness and the free market are European discoveries that then migrated to America. But nothing prevents us from returning to a creative economy. The Parliament faces a great challenge; be a Parliament that promotes deregulation, set aside routine, do not just read the Draghi report, roll up your sleeves,” Tusk added.
Regarding EU defense, the Polish Prime Minister said: “I am not a militarist. Europe is a space on our planet where no one wants to repeat any war. We have suffered more than anyone from the terrible wars in Europe, and that is why we understand so well that to avoid this tragic repetition of history, we must all be strong, armed, determined, strong in spirit, but also strong in our defense capabilities and therefore not neglect this 5% challenge of military spending as a percentage of GDP. We must think flexibly, creatively because it is precisely today that we must radically increase defense spending.”
“Europe cannot lose in terms of global competitiveness; it cannot become a continent of naive people and ideas. If we fail economically, no one will care about the environment on a global level, so I ask you to have an objective critical review of all regulations, including the green deal,” Tusk continued, emphasizing that Europeans “must not only be able to point the way forward but also to change this regulation that could lead to a further spike in energy prices,” particularly referring to the ETS 2 system, warning of “terribly predictable political consequences” if the EU continues “without deep reflection on this path.”
“High energy prices – was the warning of the Prime Minister – can bring down not only a democratic government.” Tusk then focused on the issue of food security, emphasizing the need to act quickly to reduce the burden on European farmers. “If citizens see these policies as a burden, then we will lose the people we need to fight for the future of our environment,” he warned.
Von der Leyen: “The new reality is unpleasant but our values remain unchanged”
“We have entered a new era of harsh geostrategic competition, dealing with powers of continental dimensions, which primarily compete based on interests: this new dynamic will increasingly dominate relations between global actors, and the rules of engagement are changing.” This was stated by Ursula von der Leyen during the Eurochamber plenary in a debate on the conclusions of the European Council of December 19.
With the US, “our top priority will be to engage promptly, discuss common interests, and be ready to negotiate, and when the time comes to negotiate, we will be pragmatic in seeking common ground, but I also want you to know that we will always remain faithful to our European principles,” she added.
“No other economy in the world is as integrated as the European and American ones, but beyond these numbers, there is much more: friendships, family ties, common history and culture, this is an aspect that we will always keep in mind,” von der Leyen emphasized.
“In recent years, we have finalized 35 agreements with third parties: from the beginning of the mandate, in less than two months, we have already concluded three new partnerships with Mercosur, Mexico, and Switzerland, and last Monday, we relaunched negotiations with Malaysia,” she said. These agreements, according to von der Leyen, “open up new and dynamic export markets, protect our distinctive products and key sectors such as agriculture, and ensure our access to critical minerals and clean energy,” she stated.
“The Draghi report will be the guiding star of the new Commission and will guide our work for the next five years,” von der Leyen added, saying that the Commission is “setting three objectives.” The first is “to close the innovation gap with our competitors.” Second, “a common roadmap for decarbonization and competitiveness,” she added. The third on the list, von der Leyen said, is “to strengthen our resilience and economic security.”
“On innovation, public investments must absolutely play a role for this to be effective; coordination between Member States must improve, especially in some strategic areas such as AI, quantum technologies, and biotechnologies,” she argued before the plenary. “We must invest in these sectors, but public funds will never be enough: to stimulate innovation at the right speed and scale, private capital will be essential,” von der Leyen explained.
On the second point, the Commission President announced the presentation of a new energy plan in February and emphasized: “we must reduce energy prices and complete the abandonment of Russian fossil fuels; not only must we continue to diversify our energy supplies, we will have to invest in clean energy technologies of the new generation.” “We must also mobilize more private capital to modernize our networks and storage infrastructures and remove all barriers that still stand in the way of our Energy Union,” she continued.
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