State of the Union (debate)
Speaker: Ska KELLER (Germany, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
Date: 2022-09-14

  Ska Keller,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, dear Commission President and dear Ms Zelenska, it is a big honour to have you here with us today and your presence reminds us that while we talk a lot about the problems that we’re facing in the EU, the real consequences of this war of aggression of Putin are carried by the people in Ukraine. A brutal invasion led against the peaceful people of Ukraine simply because they chose to live in freedom and democracy. Putin cannot live with the fact that people live in liberty with human and civil rights and that nations work together peacefully. Freedom and democracy – principles the EU was founded on – are the biggest threats to him.
All together, we must face this atrocious aggression with determination and with courage, just as Ukraine is showing us. Europe needs to support and continue to support Ukraine in their fight for peace and self-determination and even scale up those efforts. The past days have shown that the Ukrainian people are able to resist the attack. And it is now that Europe needs to stand by their side, by your side.
While Ukraine suffers most from the attack, there are also consequences for the EU. We must be prepared for tough times ahead. To do that, we must show solidarity to the outside but also to the inside by ensuring that the costs and consequences are carried by the stronger shoulders in our society. With skyrocketing energy and food prices, we must act. We know that many citizens in our Union are fearful of what the winter will bring. Fearful of being unable to heat their homes, feed their children, pay their bills. We cannot turn a blind eye to the situation of the most vulnerable people in our Union. Already now, every fifth person in the EU lives in poverty, and the scale of the increase in prices means that many more households will be at risk. It is our duty to ensure that people who are struggling get support and that the greed and profits of a few don’t lead to the misery of many.
So let’s take bold policy steps to make sure that everyone gets through these tough times. And I welcome the Commission President’s proposal to skim off windfall profits from energy companies, something that we as the Greens/EFA Group have been calling for since the beginning of this crisis.
The only true way to end our energy dependency is, on the one hand, to use less energy and, on the other hand, to produce more renewable energy. Sun and wind provide us with much more power than we could ever possibly use. So let’s profit from that. Fossil fuels have been a driver for ecological disaster and for dangerous dependency. Renewables are the true catalyst for peace, security and stability. Now is the time to scale up investments in renewables, to put solar panels on every roof, insulate buildings, and make sure sun and wind carry us into a new era of sustainable and affordable European energy production.
And let’s make no mistake, Commission President and colleagues, the climate crisis is probably the biggest political test for our generation. All over Europe, we experience the devastation the climate crisis is bringing and will bring to our continent and to the world. This summer, massive droughts and heatwaves paved the way for wildfires, killing a substantial amount of our harvest as well, and led to thousands of deaths that came prematurely. The cost of non-action is immense. It is time to act and to quickly build a brighter, cleaner future to capitalise on the enormous potential that the green transition brings in terms of sustainable economic development, well-paying and future-proofed jobs, cleaner air and a better quality of life for our citizens.
Dear colleagues, dear Commission President, Putin’s war against Ukraine is also targeted at our EU values and at democracy. In order to stand strong against opponents and threats, we have to defend those values within the EU and without exception. I am grateful for your strong words on the rule of law, Commission President, however, we have heard very promising words before. What we are lacking is action. Thanks to Parliament, we have instruments at hand, but now they need to be used, including the rule of law conditionality mechanism. Dear Commission President, please respect the conditionality instrument and the political will of this Parliament. No money should be given to the governments of Poland and Hungary unless they clearly return to the path of rule of law.
And I want to tell our dear colleagues from the EPP and especially you, Mr Weber, to be careful with whom we form partnerships. Looking at Italy, you are playing a risky game, with democracy and with our shared values, just for power. A game that could backfire on all of us. A group that claims to be part of the democratic majority should not partner with people who wear Putin-fancier shirts nor parties with fascist logos. Not in Italy, not in Spain, not in Sweden. Not in the EPP. Nowhere and never. And, it is a bit awkward that I say this as a Green, but the centre right has a very important role to play in Europe and part of this, together with all of us, is to ward off the extreme right. If you open the door to them, you are doing a big, big disservice to Europe but I believe also to your own party.
Dear Commission President and dear colleagues, yes, the state of the Union is full of challenges stemming from the war in Ukraine to the rule of law to the climate crisis. We are facing a big test. However, I am convinced that the EU has the strength to face these challenges if we work together. Work together towards new energy independence, a climate-neutral continent and, maybe most importantly, a European Union that deserves and maintains the trust of our European citizens, founded on values, founded on solidarity.