The visit of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, to Lisbon on Tuesday 5 January marked the launch of the official programme of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU.
This is an opportunity for his host, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, to recall the three main priorities of this fourth Portuguese Presidency, the first under the Treaty of Lisbon.
The Portuguese Presidency wants to work on post-Covid-19 economic recovery first and foremost. “It is time to act for a fair, green and digital recovery”, Mr Costa said, echoing the Presidency’s slogan. This recovery will be based on two pillars: the climate transition and the digital transition. “These are not obstacles, but opportunities for European economies”, he explained.
To have a real recovery, however, the healthcare situation must improve. “We need vaccines to eliminate the pandemic and guarantee recovery”, Mr Costa acknowledged.
“This Portuguese Presidency is starting at a time when we have not yet left Covid-19 behind. We are fully mobilised to deploy the vaccines, it is a huge challenge we face”, explained Mr Michel. Asked about the deployment of the vaccines, he explained that he was well aware of the impatience, “but we will continue, day after day, to deploy the vaccines. We have to realise that we cannot produce 450 million doses in 1 day, nor can we administer them that rapidly”, added Mr Costa, who believes that it is “important that everyone be vaccinated, [because] it is only with mass vaccination that can we resume our activities”.
The President of the European Council announced that a new videoconference of European Heads of State or Government would be held before the end of January “to address the issue of crisis management, to limit the spread of the virus”.
Developing the social pillar of the EU is another important issue for Portugal. “We need a solid basis to restore everyone’s confidence and to face the challenges: the digital and green transitions, investing in qualifications and innovation, guaranteeing social protection, so that these transitions become opportunities for all and so that no one is forgotten”, explained the Portuguese Prime Minister. “Some people are afraid of digitalisation, afraid of the impact of the climate transition on the car industry [...] We need to find ways to inoculate against these fears, this better vaccine is a strong social pillar”, according to him. The summit scheduled for 7 and 8 May in Porto should enable Europeans to make a “common commitment to a social Europe”, Mr Costa promised.
Finally, Portugal pleads for greater strategic autonomy for Europe, so that the latter may assert itself as a global player while remaining open to the world (see other news). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)