Debate: Presentation of the programme of activities of the French Presidency
Date: WEDNESDAY, 19 JANUARY 2022
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: FR

Je sais que la présidente von der Leyen regrette considérablement de ne pas pouvoir être présente en personne – ce qui nous rappelle une fois de plus que la pandémie de COVID-19 est toujours très présente dans nos vies. Mais je suis sûr néanmoins qu’elle partage mon sentiment aujourd’hui: je suis heureux que l’Europe puisse compter sur l’expérience et la sagesse de la France. Dans les prochains mois, nous devrons unir nos forces à un moment crucial de notre histoire. Car la présidence française démarre dans un contexte géopolitique agité. Mr President has just talked about it, and indeed you only need to look at our immediate neighbourhood. There is just that short plane ride away, a couple of hours, where the security architecture of our continent is being challenged. We see old failed ideas re-emerging of power bloc competition, of spheres of influence, and we Europeans are resolutely opposed to entire countries being once again treated so disdainfully as mere backyards.  We categorically reject the threat of use of force, one of the fundamental principles that underpin European security, as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act. And we stand ready to take action if necessary, and we have made clear any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe costs.  At the same time, we welcome the recent diplomatic activity from the US—Russia talks, to the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE meeting, and the Commission remains in close contact with the US administration. We Europeans will do everything in our power to protect and nurture our model of peaceful democratic governance and its central tenets of dialogue and diplomacy.  We will strengthen it from within and protect it against outside threats, from cyber attacks to hybrid threats, such as we have seen recently on the border with Belarus. For this, two projects will be particularly important in the coming months.  With a strategic compass – our new European white paper on defence – we will set out our common strategic vision, while with the defence package we aim to strengthen our capabilities. And I know how my colleague, High Representative and Vice-President Josep Borrell is working closely with Minister Le Drian and all the ministers of foreign affairs and defence in that respect.  Mr President Macron just made very important remarks on the importance of the EU-Africa Summit, also we in the Commission are looking at this occasion as the possibility of a new beginning,  We very much appreciate your remarks on the Western Balkans because they – and rightfully so – should be on the top of our priority lists. And we will, of course, listen very carefully about your wise words on our relationship with the United Kingdom.  The United Kingdom, they are our neighbours, our allies, and I think all of us in this House would like to see them again as our strategic partners. For that to happen, we need to rebuild the trust, and trust is being built through respecting the agreements. The agreements which we recently signed and ratified, be it on withdrawal, be it on trade and cooperation, or be it proper implementation of the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. And we on the side of the European Union, on the side of the Commission, will show all the flexibility, all the goodwill to make this happen. But we need a good partner on the other side.  Mr President, you’ve been highlighting how important our unity and cooperation in the world is, and I am very glad that the French Presidency is going to focus on all the important priorities, because the world around us is indeed becoming more unpredictable and Europeans rightly expect us to protect that.  Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, the need to focus on the threats of today and the challenges of tomorrow is, of course, also true for the Europeans’ economy. Despite the pandemic, we have already embarked on the modernisation of the economy and the society towards a more sustainable way of living and working, a way of living that preserves both the health of the planet and the livelihoods of our people.  That is our economic growth model for the next 10 years and beyond. We have already built a solid foundation for this through Next Generation EU. With its EUR 800-billion recovery programme we are not only investing to finally put the pandemic behind us, we are also investing in our sustainable and digital future.  We are tackling the structural challenges of our economies while ensuring that everyone can benefit from this future – large companies, as well as our small and medium-sized enterprises, farmers as well as low income households – and the early success of our approach is already proving us right. Studies show that thanks to Next Generation EU growth in Europe is 1.5% higher than it would have been with a national recovery programme alone.  Dans le même temps, notre nouveau modèle de croissance doit garantir la souveraineté technologique, économique et politique de l’Europe. Il doit également permettre à nos entreprises et à notre marché unique de bénéficier pleinement des nouvelles opportunités. C’est pourquoi nous voulons rapatrier la technologie permettant de fabriquer les plus petits semi-conducteurs de la planète ici, en Europe. C’est exactement ce que nous allons faire avec la législation européenne sur les semi-conducteurs que nous présenterons dans les prochaines semaines. Tout comme elles alimentent les ordinateurs du monde entier, ces puces sont au cœur de la course technologique mondiale. Sans elles, il n’y a pas de numérique. Je sais que mes collègues, que la vice-présidente exécutive Vestager et le commissaire Breton, également présents ici avec nous aujourd’hui, seront d’accord avec moi sur ce point. Je suis ravi que la France fasse de l’indépendance stratégique et de la résilience de la chaîne d’approvisionnement une priorité de sa présidence. Dans un monde géopolitique de plus en plus complexe, où la concurrence atteint de nouveaux domaines, nous devons forger notre propre destin tout en favorisant une vision à long terme et en privilégiant la stratégie à la tactique. Je pense aussi à notre législation sur les marchés numériques et à celle sur les services numériques ( Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, pour Simone Veil, il ne faisait aucun doute qu’une union des démocraties est la forme la plus puissante et la plus résiliente de gouvernement possible. Au cours des prochains mois de la présidence française, nous travaillerons d’arrache-pied pour rapprocher plus encore notre Union de l’Europe qu’elle envisageait. United we will overcome the pandemic and deliver sustainable growth. United, we will defend our values and strengthen our security, and united we will work for the benefit of all Europeans each and every day. And this is exactly what such a great European as David Sassoli would like us to do.