Donald Trump’s first decrees are being evaluated in Davos in real time, as their content becomes known, to the alarm and concern of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenwho took advantage of his speech before the World Economic Forum to recognize that “Europe has entered a new era of tough geostrategic competition” and “will have to work together to avoid a global race to the bottom». He has suggested that the use of sanctions, export controls and tariffs is likely to increase and that for Europe to maintain its growth over the next quarter century it must shift gears.
In response to Trump’s arrival
After learning of Trump’s first decisions, Ursula Von der Leyen has reiterated the European commitment to decarbonization and has defined the Paris Agreement, from which the United States threatens to withdraw, as “the greatest hope for humanity”. “Europe will stay the course and continue working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming,” he said, in a speech in which he also defended the multilateralism and has assured that in areas as diverse as climate or artificial intelligence, the European Union “will continue to seek cooperation” with Washington.
“Not only with our usual friends, but with any country with which we share interests,” said the German Christian Democrat, after predicting that “the coming years will be crucial beyond Europe«, because »all continents will have to accelerate the transition towards climate neutrality and confront the growing burden of climate change« because »its impact is impossible to ignore« and remains »at the top of the global agenda «.
In these statements, von der Leyen It goes several steps beyond the document agreed last weekend in Berlin by the heads of government and opposition of the European People’s Party, meeting in the German capital to unite positions regarding the diplomatic and economic challenge posed by the new Trump Administration. He agreed, however, that the days when the EU could rely on “cheap energy from Russia (…) are behind us.” He recalled that the community bloc matters andl 50% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States and has stressed that, in the “medium term” the response to recover competitiveness in relation to energy prices is renewables and nuclear.
“The clean energy It is the medium-term answer, because it is cheap, generates good local jobs and reinforces our energy independence. Today, Europe already generates more electricity from wind and solar sources than from all fossil fuels combined. But there is still work to do,” he said, thus justifying the need to “continue diversifying” energy sources and “expanding clean sources of generation from renewables and, in some countries, also nuclear energy”, as well as such as investing in »next generation clean energy technologies, such as fusion, advanced geothermal and solid-state batteries«.
The keys to improving competitiveness
One of the three pillars that he points out to improve European competitiveness, in energy matters, is to “mobilize more private capital to modernize our electrical networks and storage infrastructure”, all concepts that will be part of the clean industry plan which Brussels will present in February. «This is our plan. And the next few years will be crucial to stay in the race for clean and disruptive technologies. “Europe has everything it needs to achieve this,” he tried to conclude with optimism.
Von der Leyen trusts this recipe to vindicate the importance of the Union compared to models like Trump’s: strengthening the single market, lowering energy prices and completing the Capital Market Union, as relevant steps to make Europe “stronger.” «Our message to the world is simple: if there are mutual benefits in sight, we are willing to collaborate. Europe is open for business«He said, looking at Washington, and has shown his conviction that Europe has to reduce its dependencies if it wants to be an important global player.
“Exchanges between the EU and the US represent 30% of world trade,” he also recalled, so “there is a lot at stake for both parties.” «Our priority will be to engage quickly, discuss common interests and be ready to negotiate. we will be pragmatistsbut we will always defend our principles and values. That is the European way of doing things,” he insisted, also pointing out that it is also valid for the relationship with China, with whom, he advanced, “we must explore the opportunities” that the international context offers. «No other economy in the world is so integrated like ours,” the leader of the community Executive concluded, calling to avoid artificial pessimism about the future of Europe.
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