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 Ursula von der Leyen's second 'state of the union' address as
European Commission president comes after two years that have tested
the bloc's resilience, with the coronavirus pandemic, a related
sharp economic downturn, and strains over Brexit and the rule of law
in eastern member states.
In a broad-brush speech setting out the bloc's priorities for the
year ahead, von der Leyen also listed ambitious goals, including
technological independence for the EU, but warned that "the next
year will be another test of character".
By the end of August, 70% of the adult population in the 27-nation
EU had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This marked a
milestone after a slow start, but also masked big differences among
EU countries.
Announcing a new donation of another 200 million vaccine doses by
the middle of next year for third countries - on top of a previous
commitment for 250 million jabs - von der Leyen said she was worried
by the varying vaccination rates within the EU.
"Let's do everything possible (so) that this does not turn into a
pandemic of the unvaccinated," she told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg,
France.
Nineteen EU economies will regain their pre-pandemic size this year,
with the others following next year, she said.
'CLOSING THE CLIMATE FINANCE GAP'
The former German defence minister has put tackling climate change
at the top of her agenda, with bold steps for the EU to achieve
climate neutrality by 2050, along with a digital transformation of
its economy.
Von der Leyen pledged to increase financial support to help poorer
countries fight climate change and adapt to its impacts by an
additional 4 billion euros until 2027, and called on the United
States to likewise do more.
"But we expect the United States and our partners to step up too.
This is vital, because closing the climate finance gap together, the
U.S. and the European Union, would be such a strong signal for
global climate leadership," she said.
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 Climate finance is expected to be a decisive
issue at the United Nations' COP26 summit in
November, where world leaders will attempt to
unlock commitments to cut emissions faster and
stave off catastrophic climate change.
CALL TO BOLSTER DEFENCE
Critics say von der Leyen's Commission has fallen short of promises
to be more "geopolitical", partly because the EU struggles to assert
its influence in foreign affairs - underlined last month during the
Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.
Von der Leyen said the EU should be able to intervene militarily
without the help of the United States but has lacked the political
will to do so.
"The more fundamental issue is, why
has this not worked in the past. You can have the most advanced
forces in the world but if you are never prepared to use them, what
use are they?," she said. "What has held us back until now is not
just shortfalls of capacity, it is a lack of political will."
Wearing a mask emblazoned with the EU flag's circle of 12 gold
stars, von der Leyen greeted lawmakers at the assembly with fist
bumps ahead of her speech.
The first female president of the EU's executive, she promised a new
legal act to combat violence against women in the bloc and new legal
protection to strengthen journalists' safety.
Her objective, von der Leyen said, is "a union that is both
beautifully unique and uniquely beautiful".
(Reporting by Jan Strupcewzki, Marine Strauss, Gabriela Baczynska,
Phil Blenkinsop, Yves Herman, Foo Yun Chee, Kate Abnett, Writing by
Ingrid Melander and John Chalmers; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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