The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, assured this Wednesday that the EU will undertake a “deep reform” of the electricity market to deal with rising energy prices in the bloc.
In his “State of the EU” address, von der Leyen specially invited Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska and honored the resistance of Ukrainians to Russia’s offensive.
(You can read: Can Vladimir Putin lose the war in Ukraine?)
“I am here, in front of you, with the conviction that, thanks to our courage and our solidarity, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will fail and Europe will win,” von der Leyen said.
According to the official, Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine will continue to be “unwavering”, and for this reason she warned that Russia’s sanctions will not be lifted.
During his speech, Von der Leyen announced that he would still travel to kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, later that day.
On this trip, he indicated, he intends to discuss in detail with President Volodimir Zelensky the continuity of European aid to Ukraine.
(Also: ‘How many more deaths should we expect?’: Pope Francis on war in Ukraine)
energy measures
In his nearly hour-long speechVon der Leyen focused on the huge increases in consumer energy prices. Therefore, he stated that the EU will undertake “a complete and in-depth reform” of its electricity market.
“Beyond the immediate crisis, we must think about the future. The current design of the electricity market no longer does justice to consumers, who should reap the benefits of low-cost renewable energy,” he argued.
“Therefore, it is necessary to decouple electricity prices from the dominant influence of gas,” he said.
The months ahead of us will not be easy, neither for families who are struggling to make ends meet, nor for companies
For Von der Leyen, “in our social market economy, the benefits are good. But in these times it is wrong to have extraordinary profits benefiting from the war (…) In these times, the benefits must be distributed and channeled to those most they need it”.
Thus, Von der Leyen put on the table the extraordinary measures that have been cooked up during the month of September to alleviate the crisis: limit the income of European electricity companies, tax the extraordinary profits of oil companies to raise more than 140,000 million euros and that Member States save 10% on electricity (at least 5% in hours of peak demand).
The European energy ministers will meet again on September 30 to examine the emergency plan proposed by the European Commission, although some of the ideas launched already divide the countries of the bloc due to their very varied energy situations.
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The President of the European Commission also urged European citizens on Wednesday to prevail over the coming winter with the “solidarity” and “courage” that the bloc showed in its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ahead of a few months in which that the unit exhibited so far will be put to the test.
“We have recovered the internal strength of Europe. We will need all this strength. The months ahead will not be easy either for families struggling to make ends meet or for businesses facing tough choices about their future.“Von der Leyen said in his 2022 State of the European Union address.
“We will be tested by those who want to exploit any division between us. This is not only a Russian war against Ukraine, it is against our energy, our economy, our values and our future,” added the German, who was convinced that , “with courage and solidarity, Russia will be defeated and Europe will prevail.”
Raw materials and hydrogen
In addition, he announced the creation of a “European Hydrogen Bank” with which the block will invest 3,000 million euros in the coming years to accelerate the development of this technology and continue to reduce Russian dependence.
It also announced an initiative to build up strategic reserves to avoid supply disruptions of critical raw materials for its industry, particularly rare earths and lithium.
Finally, he assured that the EU will double its firefighting capabilities for next year by purchasing ten light amphibious aircraft and three additional helicopters.
“This summer, we sent planes from Greece, Sweden or Italy to fight fires, as well as France and Germany. But as these events become more frequent and intense, Europe will need more capabilities,” he insisted.
(Also read: Ukraine: what impact will the kyiv counteroffensive have on the war with Russia?)
About Russia
The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, also assured this Wednesday that the sanctions that the European Union (EU) has imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine “are here to stay”, and added that the Twenty-Seven will also maintain financial support for kyiv.
“I want to make it very clear, sanctions are here to stay. This is the time for us to show determination, not appeasement. This has to be very clear. The same applies to our financial support to Ukraine,” the politician stated during the speech. on the state of the Union pronounced in plenary session of the European Parliament (EP).
Von der Leyen stated that the sanctions imposed on Moscow are “the toughest the world has seen” and stressed that the Russian financial sector is “on life support” and that three-quarters of the Russian banking sector has been disconnected from international markets.
“Nearly a thousand international companies have left the country. Car production has fallen by 75% compared to last year. (Airline) Aeroflot is grounding planes because there are no more spare parts. The Russian military is taking ‘chips’ of dishwashers and refrigerators to fix their military ‘hardware’ because there are no more semiconductors. Russia’s industry is in tatters,” he said, on the effects of the sanctions.
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He stressed that it is the Kremlin that has put the Russian economy “on the road to oblivion.”
“This is the price of (Vladimir) Putin’s trail of death and destruction,” von der Leyen said.
On the financial support to Ukraine, he indicated that so far the community institutions and the member states have provided “more than 19,000 million euros” to kyiv, not counting military support.
Sanctions are here to stay. This is the time for us to show determination, not appeasement
“We’re in this for the long haul,” he confirmed.
The president of the EC also announced that Ukraine will be included in the European area free of “roaming” (roaming), in which calls or mobile data consumption when traveling to another EU country have no extra costs.
(Also: Putin promises to reactivate gas supply to Europe if sanctions on Russia are eased)
“A lesson from this war is that we should have listened to those who know Putin,” the German politician admitted, mentioning the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya and information professionals who “exposed the crimes and paid the highest price.”
He also assured that Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, the opposition from Belarus, Poland and the Baltic republics should have been heard.
“They have been telling us for years that Putin would not stop,” he said.
*With information from AFP and EFE
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