Debate: Presentation of the programme of activities of the Czech Presidency
Date: WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2022
Speaker: Ursula von der Leyen
Language: DE

Und diese Bilder erinnern uns an eine andere Invasion und eine andere Phase des Widerstands Europas gegen Unterdrückung: Das war Prag 1968. Die unvergesslichen Szenen friedlicher Demonstrantinnen und Demonstranten, Männer und Frauen, Jung und Alt, die sich in den Straßen von Prag damals den sowjetischen Panzern in den Weg gestellt haben. Und deshalb kann ich mir kaum ein anderes, besseres Land vorstellen, das gerade jetzt den Ratsvorsitz in der Europäischen Union übernimmt, als Tschechien. Die Menschen in Tschechien haben die Qual der Unterdrückung erlebt. Vor allem aber haben die Menschen in Tschechien die Macht des Widerstandes, die Kraft der Hoffnung und vor allen Dingen die unbändige Freude, wenn das Land dann wieder frei und demokratisch ist, erlebt. Und mehr denn je brauchen wir heute dieses Streben nach Freiheit, dieses Streben nach Unabhängigkeit und Selbstbestimmung in unserer Europäischen Union. Und deshalb, lieber Petr, freue ich mich auf die Ratspräsidentschaft von Tschechien im nächsten halben Jahr. The tasks ahead of us are enormous. You, Petr, have summed them up with three words: rethink, repower, rebuild. And of course, the word rebuild calls to mind, first and foremost, the reconstruction of Ukraine. I’ve just returned – where I met you also, Petr – from the Lugano Reconstruction Conference. And I think we witnessed a very impressive presentation of Ukraine’s reconstruction plan. Representatives from more than over 40 countries and organisations agreed on the Lugano Principles: Ukraine—owned, reform—focused, transparency, accountability and rule of law, democratic participation, gender equality and inclusion, and sustainability, and I think these are good principles. Now we have to fill them with life. And for doing that, we need the best and the brightest on reconstruction. And this is why, together with the German G7 Presidency, we will convene such a high—level conference after summer, because we all know never, ever before have we mastered such a colossal reconstruction challenge, so we need all hands on deck. And while we work in these days to help Ukraine win this war, we must also make sure that Ukraine wins the peace that will for sure come. You, honourable Members, were the first to call for the European perspective for Ukraine. And this led to the historic decision to grant Ukraine candidate status. I think we can all take pride in this because our Union lived up to the moment. We did exactly what Václav Havel reminded us of in his speech, which also provides the motto for your Presidency. He has said, it is not that the united part of Europe would come to harm if it expanded, just the opposite. In the long run, it would come to harm only if it failed to expand. And I think in these days, that really sounds like a prophecy. Now, the second task you, the Czech Presidency, identified is repower. The unity and the resolve we show towards Russia will also be key to repower Europe. And this means primarily to push forward the very ambitious agenda of our European Green Deal, because climate change will not wait until Putin’s war is over. And the unprecedented heatwave that recently struck Europe is just the latest reminder of that. Now, I’m very glad that both Parliament and the Council have taken their positions on Fit for 55. So now, it’s up to the Czech Presidency to bring forward the trilogues. And I’m also very grateful for your commitment, dear Petr, to bring forward the REPowerEU package. With REPowerEU, we are mobilising substantive new resources for renewable energy. It is a EUR 300 billion plan to win independence from Russian fossil fuels, actually from any fossil fuels. And to do so, we are first and foremost diversifying our gas supplies away from Russia towards trustworthy, reliable suppliers. And our efforts are already making a big difference. I have reported several times here in Parliament about that, so let me update you about what the latest efforts are. Since March, global LNG exports other than Russia, to Europe have risen by 75% compared to 2021. And LNG exports from the United States to the European Union have nearly tripled. I think even more important is that at the same time the average monthly import of Russian pipeline gas to the European Union is now sharply declining by 33% compared to last year – last year June, this year June, minus 33%. So we are making progress and that’s exactly what we wanted to have. But we know that all of this will only work, the diversifying away from Russia and having energy security of supply, if we speed up the transition to renewable energies. This is the key remedy. Now, I observe that some say that in the new security environment after Russia’s aggression, we have to slow down the green transition. And this transition would come at the cost of basic security, they say. Just the opposite is true. If we all do nothing but compete around fossil fuels, the limited fossil fuels that are out there, the prices will just go through the roof and we will fill Putin’s war chest. And that’s exactly what we do not want to have. And therefore the best, the cleanest and safest way out of the dependency on fossil fuels is renewables. So, the new security environment is the best argument to speed up deployment of renewables. Renewables are home—grown, they give us independence from Russian fossil fuels, they are more cost efficient and they are cleaner than anything else. So, let’s take the opportunity and really invest in the renewable energy. Honourable Members, we also need to prepare now for further disruption of gas supply and even a complete cut—off of Russian gas supply. Just to give you a figure, today, 12 Member States are already directly affected by partial or total cut—off of Russian gas. So it is obvious Putin continues to use energy as a weapon. And this is why the Commission is working on a European emergency plan. We will present this plan and the necessary instruments by mid—July. Member States have their national contingency plans, that’s good. But I think we need European cooperation and we need common action as 27. We need to make sure that in case of full disruption, the gas flows towards where it’s needed most. We have to provide for European solidarity. And we need to protect the single market as well as industry supply chains. And here, honourable Members, we should never forget the bitter, bitter lesson that we learned at the beginning of the pandemic. You remember it very well. At the beginning, we had egoism and protectionism, closed borders, export bans, you name it, that led only to disunity and fragmentation. But with European unity and coordination we then, after a while, had the key remedies to overcome this brutal pandemic. So let’s keep these principles in mind. As always, let’s hope for the best but prepare for the worst. I know this is hard work ahead of us, but like in the last months, unity will be key to our success. Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, vous le savez aussi bien que moi: dans tous les États membres, l’état de l’économie inquiète de plus en plus. La crise de la COVID a creusé les déficits. Puis, au moment où l’économie commençait à se redresser, la Russie a lancé sa féroce attaque contre l’Ukraine. Cela a accéléré l’inflation dans tous les secteurs, de l’alimentation à l’énergie. Dans le même temps, les investissements restent essentiels pour réussir la transition vers une économie verte, numérique et résiliente.  C’est pourquoi nous devons repenser. Repenser – et là encore, cher Petr, votre devise tombe à point nommé. Nous devons repenser la manière de créer de la croissance dans un environnement politique et économique très différent.  Prenez les règles de notre gouvernance économique. Il nous faut des règles qui concilient nos besoins d’investissement plus élevés et la nécessité d’une politique budgétaire saine. De fait, la viabilité budgétaire et la croissance vont forcément ensemble. Nous présenterons les résultats de notre évaluation de la gouvernance économique sous la présidence tchèque.  Ou bien prenez notre marché unique ou nos relations commerciales avec les partenaires puissants du monde entier. Vous l’avez déjà dit, ce sont là deux atouts majeurs en temps de crise. Ce sont les principaux moteurs de notre croissance. Nous devrions repenser la manière de les renforcer encore.  Le nouvel accord de libre-échange que nous avons conclu la semaine dernière avec la Nouvelle-Zélande est un excellent exemple. Ce nouvel accord contribuera à augmenter de 30 % les échanges commerciaux entre l’Union européenne et la Nouvelle-Zélande. De plus, pour la première fois, il contient des engagements sans précédent en matière sociale et climatique. Cela montre que, quand elles sont fortes, les démocraties obtiennent des résultats pour le bien de leur population. Honourable Members, in his Aachen speech Václav Havel spoke about Europe as a task. The task of Europe today, he said, is to rediscover its conscience and its responsibility. It’s beautiful. And this is exactly what we will continue to do with the support of our Czech friends.  Dear Petr, I’ve seen it with my own eyes and heard what you reported to me when I visited Czechia last week. And thank you again for this wonderful reception. The Czech people opened their hearts and their homes to refugees. They do miracles to thousands and thousands of Ukrainian refugees hosted in the Czech Republic. And this is in the Havel sense – Europe with a conscience and taking its responsibility. This is Europe at its best. Long live Europe.