The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed, on Wednesday 16 September, the importance for Europe to assert its presence in the world, in her first ever State of the Union address to the European Parliament.
“There is no doubt that Europe must take a clear position and act quickly on international issues”, she argued, saying that the need to revitalise and reform the multilateral system had never been more urgent. But, beyond fine words, Mrs von der Leyen made few concrete announcements.
Like her predecessor, Jean-Claude Juncker (see EUROPE 12094/4, 11861/10), she called for abandoning unanimity in the Council of the European Union on foreign affairs. “When Member States say Europe is too slow, I say to them be courageous and finally move to qualified majority voting – at least on human rights and sanctions implementation”, she told the Parliament, which is itself in favour of such a change.
The President of the Commission also announced that the Commission would present a proposal to provide Europe with a text equivalent to the US Magnitski Act to punish people around the world for human rights violations. Such a sanctions regime has long been supported by the European Parliament and is currently being developed in EU Council working groups, following an agreement to this effect by foreign ministers in December 2019 (see EUROPE 12396/5).
In addition to these proposals, the President listed the state of the EU's relations with its major partners: China, first of all, Russia and Turkey, before returning to the situation in Belarus.
“Europe must react more firmly to events on the international scene, but it must also deepen and improve its partnerships with its friends and allies”, Mrs von der Leyen explained, before recalling the need to revitalise the partnerships established with “long-standing friends” on both sides of the Atlantic or the Channel.
The German Christian Democrat also recalled the European future of the countries of the Western Balkans. “They are part of Europe. They are not just a stopover on the Silk Road”, she stressed. A thinly veiled message addressed to China, which is very active in the region.
European Parliament calls for firmness
For their part, MEPs asked Mrs von der Leyen to be firm with the major international players.
“We have to build a Europe that does not give in to a nationalist Turkish leader or (Russian President) Putin who tries to sow discord”, stressed Romanian MEP Dacian Cioloș, on behalf of the Renew Europe group. In favour of a European Magnitski law and for the end of unanimity in the EU Council, Guy Verhofstadt (Renew Europe, Belgium) hoped that in 5 years' time there would be a real geopolitical Commission and not a “geominimum (sic)” Commission.
“Our competitors, our opponents on the world stage will take advantage of your lack of ambition, your inability to shine!”, mocked Frenchman Nicolas Bay on behalf of the Identity and Democracy Group.
Despite a speech lasting almost an hour and a half, Mrs von der Leyen did not at any time mention European defence or cooperation with NATO.
In addition to her speech, in its letter of intent setting out its work programme for 2021, the Commission announces the presentation of four communications on: - strengthening the EU's contribution to rules-based multilateralism; - Arctic policy and the Northern Dimension; - a renewed partnership with the countries of the southern neighbourhood; - a strategic approach to support the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of veterans.
Reinventing fair and open trade, not destroying it
On foreign trade too, Mrs von der Leyen relayed the traditional European discourse on the importance of a rules-based multilateral system, which remains open despite trade tensions and which is a vehicle for greater social justice.
Whether it is the WHO (see other news) or the WTO, “major powers are either pulling out of institutions or taking them hostage for their own interests. Neither road will lead us anywhere”, she said, without explicitly citing the United States or China. She also added: “Yes, we want change. But change by design – not by destruction!”.
The end of naivety and the quest for reciprocity are now the watchwords of Europeans in trade matters.
Two days after the EU-China videoconference summit (see EUROPE 12559/1), the President of the Commission reiterated that Beijing was “a negotiating partner, an economic competitor and a systemic rival”. On trade, Europe is calling for better access to the Chinese market for its companies and is ready to combat unfair competition from Chinese companies operating on the European market.
And the more the Union moves towards a low-carbon economic model, the more important it will become to have a carbon adjustment mechanism at its external borders.
“Carbon must have a price, because nature can no longer pay it. This carbon adjustment at the borders should provide an incentive for foreign manufacturers and European importers to reduce their carbon emissions, while ensuring a level playing field and WTO compatibility”, said Mrs von der Leyen.
See the State of the Union speech: https://bit.ly/3iBviKK (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Mathieu Bion)