At a time when the European Union is facing a major energy crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes that the EU is “well on the way” to freeing itself from “dependence on dirty and dangerous Russian fossil fuels” and that the EU should not only continue to diversify its supply, but also avoid the pitfall of new dependencies, particularly on China, in order to make a success of the green and digital transition.
Speaking on Monday, 29 August at the Strategic Forum in Bled (Slovenia), she defended a “new European strategic thinking” based on three principles: - defending the rules-based order in the long term; - supporting democracies that are most exposed to foreign threats - Ukraine, but also the Balkans; - “using our economic power to preserve and expand the rules-based world order”.
This 17th edition of the Forum (29-30 August) is dedicated to the strategic consequences and challenges of the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Europe, the EU and the world, said Slovenian Foreign Minister, Tanja Fajon.
“The best way to get rid of Russian fossil fuels is to speed up our transition to green energy sources”, said Ms von der Leyen. Praising the EU’s RepowerEU strategy, which is expected to mobilise €300 billion of investment, including in offshore wind, Ms Leyen said she would be visiting Denmark on Tuesday “to discuss similar initiatives in the Baltic Sea” (see EUROPE 12955/4).
She added: “The era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe is coming to an end. And with freedom from blackmail will come greater power to defend global rules”.
Knowing that the green and digital transitions could lead to a doubling of the demand for rare raw materials by 2030 and that European demand for lithium batteries is expected to increase by 40% per year between 2020 and 2025, the Commission President welcomed the fact that “the European Green Deal is progressing”, while recalling that, out of the 30 essential raw materials today, ten come mainly from China. “So we have to avoid falling into the same dependency as with oil and gas”, she said.
Hence the visit to Canada in a fortnight' time to diversify supply “with likeminded partners”.
In view of soaring electricity prices, Ms von der Leyen also called for the necessary reform of the electricity market (see other news).
With regard to democratic countries and the rules-based world order, she wants to “strengthen those who believe, like us, in the value of rules, and bring them even closer to us”. This is the case of Ukraine, which will have to be rebuilt and at the same time carry out internal reforms to strengthen its institutions, modernise its judicial system, but also develop “a greener, more digital and more resilient economy”.
The Commission President said she was convinced that a reconstruction platform, led by Ukraine with the participation of all willing countries, will be able to identify investment needs and coordinate actions and “can achieve these goals”.
To this end, Ukraine, together with the European Commission and the German G7 Presidency, will co-organise an international conference in Berlin on 25 October.
As for the Western Balkan countries, which “are part of the European family”, Ms von der Leyen said that their prosperity “depends entirely on their integration with the rest of Europe”. There is therefore a “clear strategic interest” in their accession to the EU, she said. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)