On the eve of the first State of the European Union address by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the main pro-European political families in the European Parliament communicated their expectations either by speaking to the press or in writing on Tuesday 15 September.
Mrs von der Leyen will have to give concrete pledges to the European Parliament in order to convince it that the Commission is its ally in influencing the Council of the EU, where Member States rely on their domestic jurisdiction at the risk of weakening any coordinated action, particularly in the European response to the coronavirus.
“Mrs von der Leyen has built up credibility over time”, by presenting the European Green Deal in December 2019 and the post-Covid-19 European Recovery Plan in May 2020, said Belgian Greens/EFA Co-President Philippe Lamberts. “Now she will need to show that she has not only a good vision but the guts to enforce it”, he added, suggesting she had a maximum of 18 months to succeed.
Still facing uncertainty about the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union in 2020 is facing the most severe economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and the expected rebound is not forecast to return to pre-crisis growth levels before the end of 2021.
Following an ambitious proposal from the Commission, the European Summit agreed on a European Recovery Plan to accompany the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These two initiatives, which will give structure to the Union’s socio-economic activity in the medium term, are being finalised in negotiations involving the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
“For the EPP group, the first priority is jobs, jobs, jobs!”, according to a draft speech to be delivered in the Chamber by its Chairman, Manfred Weber (Germany). He is expected to warn against “another lost generation”, highlighting the example of Italy, where 40% of young people are out of work.
The German Christian Democrat is also expected to stress the importance of European unity. This unity must be used, in his view, to support the Belarusians’ demand for freedom, to support Greece in the face of Turkey’s actions in the Mediterranean, and to refuse any free trade agreement with the United Kingdom if the latter breaks the agreement on an orderly Brexit.
Social issues. On behalf of the S&D group, Spain’s Iratxe García Pérez insisted on Tuesday morning on the ability of political action to “put people at the heart of our concerns” in order to break with the management of the 2008 financial crisis. In addition to an agreement on the MFF, including a binding timetable for introducing new own resources, she emphasised the “major social challenges” ahead at EU level, such as “a minimum wage” and “a clear strategy for reducing inequalities and fighting poverty” to mitigate the expected “devastating” effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the same vein, the President of the Renew Europe group, Romanian Dacian Cioloș, asked the Commission to present measures that give concrete expression to the concept of a ‘Europe that protects’, both economically and in terms of health.
Rule of law. In a video clip, the former European Commissioner also called for a “very clear” commitment by Mrs von der Leyen to respect “European values ”. The adoption of the MFF and the European Recovery Plan is the right moment to demonstrate to citizens that European money finances European values such as respect for the Rule of law, he said.
On the sidelines of Parliament’s plenary session, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA) described the Commission’s current record on respect for the Rule of law as “bad“, noting the lack of new infringement proceedings against Poland and Hungary.
Migration. For the co-president of the Greens/EFA group, Ska Keller (Germany), the migratory situation at the European Union’s external borders - particularly on the Greek island of Lesbos - illustrates the “frail” state in which the Union currently finds itself. “A society shows itself most by how it treats the most vulnerable, in this case refugees fleeing from war and terror”, she said. According to her, the European Commission must put the migration issue at the top of its priorities, by calling on “Member states who are reluctant to provide adequate facilities, who are reluctant to receive anyone in need and who are also causing by their political will this situation”.
Following the destruction of the Moria migrant camp on the Greek island, the Commission decided to bring forward the presentation of the Asylum and Migration Pact to 23 September.
Climate. On Wednesday, Mrs von der Leyen is expected to suggest that the European Union should set itself a higher target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (see EUROPE 12559/7).
The GUE/NGL group, like all the others mentioned above, supports this objective, even if it would have preferred more. “This is a step forward compared to the current 40% target, but it is still well below the targets set by scientists to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We need at least 65%”, said the group’s co-chair, Frenchwoman Manon Aubry.
She called for a radical change of direction in the Commission’s current policies to address the health, economic, social, environmental, and democratic crises. “If we don’t start from this reality, I don’t think we can find a way forward for the EU” or provide the answers that citizens expect, she concluded. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion, Damien Genicot, Agathe Cherki)