EU: Ursula von der Leyen unveils recovery and climate battle plan
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in front of the European Parliament, in Brussels, September 16, 2020. JOHN THYS / AFP
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A Europe more resilient in the face of health threats, climate change and the economic crisis: the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled her battle plan on Wednesday (September 16th) during her first speech on the state of the 'European Union (EU).
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In front of MEPs, the first woman at the head of the European executive, the German Ursula von der Leyen, who has made the “Green Deal” a pillar of her mandate, announced that she intended to raise the reduction target of the European Union (EU) greenhouse gas emissions for 2030, currently set at -40% compared to the 1990 level, at -55%.
Green bonds
This increase, which would have important consequences for the energy, transport or agricultural sectors, "
is too important for some and insufficient for others
", admitted Ursula von der Leyen.
But "
our economy and our industry can face it
", she assured in this speech, a ritual of life in Brussels.
The objective is part of the larger project to make Europe the first carbon neutral continent by 2050, that is to say capable of balancing greenhouse gas emissions and their absorption.
In this spirit, the European recovery plan of 750 billion euros on which the Member States agreed in July to get out of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, will be financed at 30% by green bonds.
Call for a "
European Health Union
"
Faced with Covid-19, which provoked national responses in dispersed order and put European solidarity to the test, she called for a “
European Health Union
”, a sector which falls within the competence of each State.
"
We will create an agency for advanced biomedical research and development at European level, as exists in the United States,
" she said.
And in the face of fierce global competition
for a vaccine
, she warned that "
vaccine nationalism puts lives at risk
."
"
We must ensure that European citizens and those around the world have access to it (...) None of us will be safe until we are all safe,
" she continued.
Brexit
: no revision of the agreement with the United Kingdom
On the Brexit front, as relations deteriorate with London, the Commission President has warned: the agreement sealing the UK's departure from the EU, signed in January, cannot be changed unilaterally.
"
It is a question of law, of trust and of good faith
", she affirmed, while the British Parliament
has just approved a bill
partly going back on the commitments made in the withdrawal agreement. , and that the prospects for an orderly exit from the United Kingdom diminish.
The end of the year marks the end of the transition period.
A warning from Turkey
Ursula von der Leyen has promised to head a “
geopolitical
”
Commission
.
She also warned Turkey against any attempt at "
intimidation
" in the
gas conflict
between it and Greece in the eastern Mediterranean.
“
If we are geographically close, the distance between us seems to keep growing,
” she said.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean will be at the heart of a European summit on September 24 and 25, as will the situation in Belarus, where the relentless repression of opponents of President Lukashenko continues.
In terms of migration, "
Europe must act in unity
"
Another highly sensitive issue for the EU: migration.
The fire in the Moria migrant camp, the largest in Europe, reminds us "
painfully that Europe must act in unity
", declared the head of the Commission, who is due to present a very reformed reform on 23 September. expected from its migration policy.
"
If we step up our efforts (at European level), we expect all member states to step up their efforts as well,
" she said, in the face of past refusals from some Eastern European countries to host asylum seekers.
Action plan against racism
Ursula von der Leyen, finally announced that she would present "
an action plan
" against racism and "
hate crimes, whether based on race, religion, gender or sexuality
."
The "
LGBTQ-free
" zones
that have been decreed
in Poland
are "
humanity-free zones
" which "
have no place
" in the EU, said the German, who also wants the parental rights of couples in the country. same sex recognized in one Member State is recognized in all.
(
With
AFP)
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