The last speech of State of the European Union (EU) of the current legislature (2019-2024) will cover tomorrow, Wednesday, September 13, the last four years of war, pandemic, green and digital transition and will focus the vision of the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the final course of the mandate, with a special emphasis on the future expansion of the bloc.
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The bubble of MEPs, diplomats, lobbyists and organizations that orbit the community framework will be attentive to Von der Leyen’s every move when she arrives in the chamber this Wednesday at 9:00 am and especially her words, which will mark the legislative rhythm of the coming months and where his cabinet’s priorities will focus.
The starting point will be that in this mandate we have fulfilled 90 percent of what was announced in the political guidelines.
“The starting point will be that in this mandate we have fulfilled 90 percent of what was announced in the political guidelines. The objective is not to propose a large number of new legislative proposals, which there are some but they are limited, but rather it is to mark the trajectory that the president sees for each of the issues we are working on,” advances a community source.
Once the first major crisis of the legislature – the pandemic – has been overcome, Ukraine will once again be the protagonist of the speech with the perennial mantra of Von der Leyen herself and the entire European institutional framework that the EU will help Kiev for as long as it is necessary.
‘Extension will be on merit’
In addition to data such as the 76,000 million euros mobilized by the EU and its Member States for Ukraine, as well as the reduction of energy dependence on Russia, the source influenced the already approaching presentation of the report in which Brussels evaluates the progress of the candidate countries for accession, which in this case will include Ukraine and could mark the beginning of a new expansion of the block towards the end of this decade.
Although she will not say what that report will say, Von der Leyen wants to emphasize that the enlargement of the European Union “is done on the basis of merit” and also insist that “if we want to be serious about this issue we must be prepared.”
“He will spend a lot of time at the end of the speech on what questions we have to ask ourselves and what the process could be like from now on, obviously very closely with the Member States”noted the source.
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He also insisted that “credibility in the process is absolutely necessary and that is provided by a very technical process” that, although it may overlook the political symbolism of enlargement, is key so that they are not accused of “politicizing the process” of the entry of new members and that it is the Twenty-Seven who give the political tone when making their decision to move forward.
But the general expectation is that much of the speech, which will last just over an hour, is dedicated to highlighting the management of a community Executive that has navigated from crisis to chained crisis since practically the beginning of the legislature.
Thus, Von der Leyen will cover everything from the already mentioned continued and multifaceted support for Ukraine after the Russian aggression to the search for greater energy independence from Moscow, passing through the continent’s efforts to be climate neutral by 2050 or the challenges posed by the double ambition to carry out a green and digital revolution in the community club.
He will talk about how biodiversity is relevant for Europe but at the same time about what European farmers need.
Among the pending duties, the German will mention the reform of fiscal rules, the negotiation of the regulation of Artificial Intelligence and especially the Migration and Asylum Pact, area in which he sees the latest efforts to reach an agreement before the 2024 elections as “key”.
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“We are closer than ever before to closing the Migration and Asylum Pact and now we have the last kilometers left to get there. Beyond the Pact, (he will mention) the work we have been doing for example regarding the association agreement with Tunisia and will raise that more associations of this type are needed,” the source explained.
And with regard to the Green Pact, it will practically close the chapter of legislative processing to open the stage of implementation of all the measures. to make the EU climate neutral by 2050, a phase in which it will seek to intensify dialogue with citizens and companies.
“It will talk about how biodiversity is relevant for Europe but at the same time about what European farmers need, who contribute to priorities such as food security and security of food supply,” he said.
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Von der Leyen will also touch, among many other topics, on the possible uses of new clean technologies, her vision on China, the Commission’s margin of action in the face of inflation.the status of the trade agreements negotiated by the European Union and how to ensure that the community industry remains competitive.
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