Debate: State of the Union
Date: WEDNESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2022
Speaker: Ursula von der Leyen
Language: EN

But from that very moment on a whole continent has risen in solidarity. At the border crossings where refugees found shelter. In our streets, filled with Ukrainian flags. In the classrooms, where Ukrainian children made new friends.  From that very moment, Europeans neither hid nor hesitated. They found the courage to do the right thing. And from that very moment, our Union as a whole has risen to the occasion.  Fifteen years ago, during the financial crisis, it took us years to find lasting solutions. A decade later, when the global pandemic hit, it took us only weeks. But this year, as soon as Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine, our response was united, determined and immediate.  And I think we can be proud of that.  We have brought Europe’s inner strength back to the surface. And we will need all of this strength. The moments ahead of us will not be easy, be it for families who are struggling to make ends meet, or businesses who are facing tough choices concerning their future.  And let us be very clear, much is at stake. Not just for Ukraine but for all of Europe and the world at large. And we will be tested. Tested by those who had to exploit any kind of divisions between us. And this is not only a war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, this is also a war on our energy, it’s a war on our economy, it’s a war on our values. It is a war on our future. It is about autocracy against democracy. And I stand here with the conviction that with the necessary courage and with the necessary solidarity, Putin will fail and Ukraine and Europe will prevail. Today courage has a name, and that name is Ukraine. Courage has a face, and that face is the face of Ukrainian men and women who are standing up to the Russian aggression. I remember a moment in the early weeks of the invasion when the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, gathered the parents of Ukrainian children killed by the invader. Hundreds of families for whom the war will never end, and for whom life will never go back to what it was before. We saw the First Lady leading a silent crowd of heartbroken mothers and fathers, and hang small bells in the trees, one for every fallen child. And now these bells will ring forever in the wind, and forever, the innocent victims of this war will live in our memories. And yes, she is here with us today. My dear Olena Zelenska, it took immense courage to resist Putin’s cruelty. But you found the courage. And a nation of heroes has risen. Today, Ukraine stands strong because an entire country has fought street by street and house by house. And we are seeing in the last days the bravery of the Ukrainians is paying off. Ukraine stands strong because people like your husband, President Zelensky, have stayed in Kyiv to lead the resistance – together with you and your children. You have given courage to a whole nation.  You have given a voice to your people on a global stage. You have given hope to all of us. So today we want to thank you and all Ukrainians. Glory to a country of European heroes.  Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine will remain unshakeable. From day one on, Europe has stood at Ukraine’s side – with weapons, with funds, with hospitality for refugees, and with the toughest sanctions the world has ever seen. Russia’s financial sector is on life-support. We have cut off three quarters of Russia’s banking sector from international markets. Nearly one thousand international companies have left the country. The production of cars fell by 75% compared to last year. Aeroflot is grounding planes because there are no more spare parts. The Russian military is taking chips from dishwashers and refrigerators to fix their military hardware, because there are no semiconductors anymore. Russia’s industry is in tatters.  And it is the Kremlin that has put Russia’s economy on the path of oblivion. That is the price for Russia’s and Putin’s trail of death and destruction. And I want to make it very clear, the sanctions are here to stay. This is the time for us having resolve and not for appeasement. This has to be very clear. The same is true for our financial support for Ukraine. So far Team Europe have provided more than EUR 19 billion in financial assistance, and this is without counting the military support. And we are in it for the long haul.  Ukraine’s reconstruction will require massive resources. For instance, Russian strikes have damaged or destroyed more than 70 schools. Half a million Ukrainian children have started their school year in the European Union, but many other Ukrainian children simply do not have a classroom to go to.  And you told me yesterday, dear Olena, that everyday when the parents are sending the children to school they don’t only give them the school bag but also an emergency bag with water, with food, with band aids, with medical supplies, with socks and underwear to change. Just imagine you send in the morning your child to school and you do not know whether you are going to be reunited in the afternoon after school.  So my dear Olena, I am announcing that we will work with you to support the rehabilitation of damaged Ukrainian schools. We will provide what you need, this is EUR 100 million, because the future of Ukraine begins in the schools and with the children. We will not only support financially but also empower Ukraine to make the most of its potential. Ukraine has already a rising tech hub and is home to many very young smart companies. So I want us to mobilise the full power of our single market to help accelerate growth and create opportunities.  Please remember in March we connected successfully Ukraine to our electricity grid. It was planned for 2024 – we did it in two weeks only. And today, Ukraine is exporting electricity to the European Union. So I want to significantly expand this mutually beneficial trade. We have already suspended import duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU. We will bring Ukraine into our European free roaming area – it’s really time to do that now. Our solidarity lanes are a big success. And building on all that, the Commission will work with Ukraine to go a step further and to ensure a seamless access to the single market of the European Union.  Our single market is one of Europe’s greatest success stories – and you know the power that lies in the single market. So now it is time to make it a success story for our Ukrainian friends, too. And this is why today I am going to Kyiv to discuss all this with President Zelensky and to show him what the single market is as a potential for Ukraine’s future too. My honourable Members, one lesson from this war is that we should have listened to those who know Putin. To Anna Politkovskaya and all the Russian journalists who exposed the crimes, and paid the ultimate price. To our friends in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the opposition in Belarus. We should have listened to the voices inside our Union – in Poland, in the Baltics, and all across Central and Eastern Europe. They have been telling us for years that Putin would not stop. And they acted accordingly. Our friends in the Baltics have worked hard to end their dependency on Russia. They have invested heavily in renewable energy, in LNG terminals, in interconnectors. They experienced that, yes, this comes at a cost, but dependency on Russian fossil fuels comes at a much much higher price. So we have to get rid of this dependency all over Europe. As you know, we therefore agreed to joint storage. We are now at 84% now – that’s good, we are overshooting our target. But unfortunately this will not be enough. We have to diversify away from Russia to reliable suppliers like the United States, Norway, Algeria and others. Two figures are very interesting. Last year, Russian gas accounted for 40% of our gas imports. Today it’s down to 9%. But we also see that Russia keeps actively manipulating our energy market. I mean they prefer to flare the gas instead of sending it to Europe according to the contracts that are existing. So this market is not functioning anymore. In addition the climate crisis is heavily weighing on our bills. Heat waves have boosted electricity demand. Droughts shut down hydro and nuclear plants. And as a result, prices have risen by more than 10 times compared to before the pandemic. Making ends meet is becoming a source of anxiety for millions of businesses and households in the European Union. But we also see how Europeans are coping with this challenge. Think of the workers in ceramics factories in central Italy who have decided to move their shifts to early morning to benefit from lower energy prices. And just imagine the mothers and fathers among those workers having to leave home early, when the kids are still sleeping, because of a war they have not chosen. This is one example in a million of examples of Europeans adapting to the new reality. And I want our Union to take example from its people. So reducing demand during peak hours will make supply last longer, and it will bring prices down. This is why we are putting forward measures for Member States to reduce their overall electricity consumption.  But then targeted support is needed. For enterprises, like the glass makers across Europe who can no longer turn on their ovens. Or for single parents facing one daunting bill after the next if they look at electricity. Millions of Europeans need support. This is why we are proposing a cap on the revenues of companies that produce electricity at low costs. These companies are making revenues they never accounted for, they never even dreamt of. And don’t get me wrong, in our social market economy, profits are OK, they are good. But in these times it is wrong to receive extraordinary record revenues and profits benefitting from war and on the back of our consumers. In these times, profits must be shared and channelled to those who need it most.  And there our proposal also includes the fossil fuel electricity producers who have to give a crisis contribution and overall our proposal will raise more than EUR 140 billion for Member States to cushion the blow directly.  These are all emergency and temporary measures we are working on, including our discussions on gas price caps. We need to keep working on lower gas prices. So on the one hand we have to ensure the security of supply. On the other hand we have to ensure global competitiveness. The security of supply because the gas still has to come to the European Union, the energy overall. On the other hand if it’s too expensive it’s damaging our global competitiveness. So we will develop with the Member States a set of measures to take into account the specific nature of our relationship with suppliers – ranging from unreliable suppliers such as Russia to reliable friends such as our Norwegian friends for example. I have agreed with Prime Minister Store to set up a task force so that teams work for this aim together to look at how we are able to lower in a reasonable manner the price for gas. Another important topic is on the agenda. Today our gas markets have changed dramatically – from pipeline that we used to have in abundance mainly to increasing amounts of LNG. But the benchmark used in the gas market – the so-called TTF – has not adapted. So this is why the Commission will work on establishing a more representative benchmark for the electricity trading that really reflects this change in the market we have seen. At the same time we also know that energy companies are facing severe problems with liquidity in electricity futures markets. We will work with the market regulators to ease these problems by amending the rules on collaterals and by taking measures to limit intra-day price volatility. And we will amend the temporary state aid framework in October to allow for the provision of state guarantees, while preserving a level playing field. This is very complex. This is not at all trivial. But I must say these are only the first steps, because as we deal with this immediate crisis, we must also look forward and therefore my diagnosis is that the current electricity market design that is based on the principle of merit order is not fit for purpose anymore, it is not just for consumers anymore. Consumers should reap the benefits of low-cost renewables – that must be the purpose. So we have to decouple the dominant influence of gas on the price of electricity. This is why we will do a deep and comprehensive reform of the electricity market. Now, honourable Members, here is one important point. Half a century ago, in the 1970s, the world faced another fossil fuel crisis. Some of us remember the car-free weekends to save energy. Yet we kept driving on the same road. We did not get rid of our dependency on oil. And worse, fossil fuels were even massively subsidised. This was wrong, not just for the climate, but also for our public finances, and our independence as we know today. And we are still paying the price for that. Only a few visionaries understood that the real problem was the fossil fuels themselves, not their price. Among them were our Danish friends. When the oil crisis hit, Denmark started to invest heavily into harnessing the power of the wind. They laid the foundation for the global leadership in the sector and created tens of thousands of new jobs.  This is the way to go. Not just a quick fix, but a change of paradigm, a leap into the future, and that must be our principle today with this crisis too, honourable Members. Mesdames et Messieurs les députés, la bonne nouvelle est que cette transformation nécessaire a commencé. Elle a lieu en mer du Nord et en mer Baltique où les États membres ont massivement investi dans les éoliennes en mer. Elle a lieu en Sicile, où la plus grande usine solaire d’Europe produira bientôt la toute dernière génération de panneaux solaires. Et elle a lieu dans le nord de l’Allemagne, où les trains régionaux roulent désormais à l’hydrogène vert. L’hydrogène peut changer la donne pour l’Europe. Nous pouvons passer du marché de niche au marché de masse pour l’hydrogène. Et avec REPowerEU, nous avons doublé notre objectif: produire 10 millions de tonnes d’hydrogène renouvelable d’ici 2030. Pour y parvenir, nous devons créer un animateur de marché pour l’hydrogène afin de combler le déficit d’investissement et de mettre en relation l’offre et la demande futures. C’est pourquoi je peux annoncer aujourd’hui que nous allons créer une nouvelle banque européenne de l’hydrogène. Cette banque aidera à garantir l’achat d’hydrogène, notamment en utilisant les ressources du Fonds pour l’innovation; elle pourra investir 3 milliards d’euros pour aider à construire le futur marché de l’hydrogène. Et c’est ainsi que nous allons bâtir l’économie du futur. C’est cela notre pacte vert pour l’Europe.  Et nous avons tous vu au cours des derniers mois à quel point le pacte vert est important. L’été 2022 restera dans les mémoires. Nous avons tous vu les rivières asséchées, les forêts en feu, la chaleur extrême. Et la situation est même bien plus grave que cela. Jusqu’à présent, les glaciers des Alpes ont servi de réserve d’urgence pour des rivières comme le Rhin et le Rhône. Mais comme les glaciers d’Europe fondent plus vite que jamais, les sécheresses futures seront beaucoup plus graves. Nous devons travailler sans relâche à l’adaptation climatique et faire de la nature notre premier allié. Et c’est pour cela que notre Union poussera pour un accord mondial ambitieux pour la nature lors de la conférence des Nations unies sur la biodiversité qui se tiendra à Montréal cette année, et nous ferons de même lors de la COP 27 à Charm el-Cheikh. Mais à court terme, nous devons aussi être mieux équipés pour faire face au changement climatique. Aucun pays ne peut lutter seul contre les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes et leurs forces destructrices. Cet été, nous avons envoyé des avions de la Grèce, de la Suède ou de l’Italie pour combattre les incendies en France et en Allemagne. Mais comme ces événements deviennent plus fréquents et plus intenses, l’Europe aura besoin de plus de capacités. Et c’est pourquoi, aujourd’hui, j’annonce que nous allons doubler notre capacité de lutte contre les incendies. Au cours de l’année prochaine, l’Union européenne achètera dix avions amphibies légers et trois hélicoptères supplémentaires pour compléter notre flotte. Voilà la solidarité européenne en action. Honourable Members, the last years have shown how much Europe can achieve when it is united. After an unprecedented pandemic, our economic output overtook pre-crisis level in record time. We went from having no vaccines to securing over 4 billion of these life-saving vaccines for Europeans and for the whole world. And in record time, we came up with SURE – so that people could stay in their jobs even if their companies had run out of work. We were in the deepest recession since World War Two and we achieved the fastest recovery since the post-war boom. And all that was possible because we all rallied behind a common recovery plan. Next Generation EU has been a boost of confidence for our economy. And its journey has only just begun. So far, EUR 100 billion have been disbursed to Member States. This means EUR 700 billion still haven’t flown into our economy. Next Generation EU will guarantee a constant stream of investment to sustain jobs and growth. It means relief for our economy but, most importantly, it means renewal. It is financing new wind turbines and solar parks, high-speed trains and energy-saving renovations. We conceived Next Generation EU almost two years ago, and yet it is still exactly what Europe needs today. So let’s stick to the plan and bring the money to the ground. It has to be delivered because it’s necessary now as investment And, Honourable Members, the future of our children needs both that we invest in sustainability but also that we invest sustainably. We must finance the transition to a digital and net-zero economy. And yet, we also have to acknowledge a new reality of higher public debt. We need fiscal rules that allow for strategic investment, while safeguarding fiscal sustainability; rules that are fit for the challenges of this decade. And, therefore, in October, we will come forward with new ideas for our economic governance. Let me share a few basic principles with you. Member States should have more flexibility on their debt-reduction path. But there should be more accountability on the delivery of what we have agreed on. There should be simpler rules that all can follow to open the space for strategic investments we needed and to give financial markets the confidence they need. So let us chart once again a joint way forward, with more freedom to invest – that’s necessary – more scrutiny on progress – what has been agreed has to be done – more ownership by Member States and better results for citizens. So, in short, let’s rediscover the Maastricht spirit: stability and growth can only go hand in hand. Because, honourable Members, as we embark on this transition in our economy, we must rely on the enduring values of the social market economy. It’s the beautiful, simple idea that Europe’s greatest strength lies in each and every one of us. Our social market economy encourages everyone to excel, but it also takes care of the fragility as human beings. It covers the big risks of life, like poverty, sickness, age. It rewards performance and guarantees protection. It opens opportunities but it also sets limits. And we need this today even more than ever. Because the strength of our social market economy will drive the green and the digital transition. And our Achilles heel for the small and medium enterprises are basically three things. It’s do we have an enabling business environment? It’s the question: do we have a workforce with the right skills? And do we have access to raw materials our industry needs? These will be the three crucial questions to answer right now to have a future with the model as I’ve described right now.  We must, for our SMEs, remove the obstacles that still hold them back. They must be at the centre of this transformation, because they are the backbone of our industry and Europe’s long history of industrial prowess. And they have always put their employees first, even, and especially, in times of crisis. But inflation and uncertainty are weighing especially hard on them. This is why we will put forward an SME relief package. It will include a proposal for a single set of tax rules for doing business in Europe, called BEFIT. It will make it easier to do business in our Union: less red tape, better access to the dynamism of our continental market. And, honourable Members, it is high time that we revise the Late Payment Directive, because it is simply not fair that one in four bankruptcies – that’s 25% of all bankruptcies – are due to invoices not being paid on time. This can’t be possible, for millions of family businesses we have to revise this Late Payment Directive, this will be a lifeline in troubled waters. Meine sehr geehrten Damen und Herren Abgeordnete! Das zweite Thema ist das große Thema – Mangel an Personal. Das ist eine große Herausforderung für Europa und Europas Unternehmen. Die Zahl der Arbeitslosen ist so niedrig wie nie – 6,0 Prozent, 6 Prozent Arbeitslosigkeit! Das ist gut. Aber gleichzeitig liegt die Zahl der offenen Stellen auf Rekordniveau. Lastwagenfahrer, Kellner, Flughafenpersonal, Krankenpfleger, Ingenieurinnen und Ingenieure, IT—Technikerinnen und —Techniker, von Ungelernt bis Universitätsabschluss – Europa braucht sie alle! Wir müssen viel stärker in Aus- und Weiterbildung investieren. Dazu müssen wir mit den Unternehmen zusammenarbeiten, denn sie wissen am besten, welche Fachkräfte sie heute brauchen, aber auch, welche Fachkräfte sie morgen brauchen. Wir müssen diesen Bedarf viel besser in Einklang bringen mit den Zielen und den Wünschen der Arbeitsuchenden selbst für ihren Berufsweg. Wir haben dieses wunderbare große Instrument ESF. Aber wir brauchen auf der anderen Seite auch eine Struktur, dass diese Gelder wirklich effektiv eingesetzt werden können. Ein Zweites ist auch wichtig: Wir müssen gezielter Fachkräfte aus dem Ausland anwerben, die hier Unternehmen und Europas Wachstum stärken. Deshalb ist ein wichtiger Schritt, ihre Qualifikationen – die können was, diese Menschen – in Europa besser und schneller anzuerkennen. Das ist die Möglichkeit, Europa attraktiver zu machen für alle, die etwas können und die sich einbringen wollen. Deshalb schlage ich vor – das ist ein Riesenthema, das kann man nicht hier abhandeln –, ich schlage vor, dass wir das Jahr 2023 zum Europäischen Jahr der Aus- und Weiterbildung machen. Lasst uns einen Schwerpunkt darauf setzen. Das ist jetzt der richtige Schritt. Meine Damen und Herren Abgeordnete! Der dritte Punkt, der so wichtig ist für unsere kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen und unsere Industrie in Europa: Ganz unabhängig davon, ob wir über maßgeschneiderte Chips für die virtuelle Realität sprechen – haben wir viel gemacht in diesem Parlament – oder über Speicherzellen für Solaranlagen: Der Zugang zu Rohstoffen ist entscheidend für den Erfolg unserer Transformation zu einer nachhaltigen und digitalen Wirtschaft. Lithium und Seltene Erden werden bald wichtiger sein als Öl und Gas. Allein unser Bedarf an Seltenen Erden wird sich bis 2030 verfünffachen. Einerseits ist es ein gutes Zeichen, denn es zeigt, mit welchem Tempo wir beim europäischen Grünen Deal vorangehen. Das Problem ist nur, dass derzeit ein einziges Land fast komplett den gesamten Markt beherrscht. Wir müssen verhindern, dass wir erneut in eine Abhängigkeit geraten, wie wir sie jetzt erleben bei Gas und Öl. Dazu müssen viele Schritte getan werden. An diesem Punkt kommt auch unsere Handelspolitik ins Spiel. Wir brauchen neue Partnerschaften, denn geografisch gibt es diese Rohmaterialien nicht nur an einem Platz auf der Erde. Das heißt, wir brauchen neue Partnerschaften, nicht nur um unsere Wirtschaft zu stärken, sondern vor allen Dingen auch, um unsere Interessen und unsere Werte global voranzubringen. Mit diesen gleichgesinnten Partnern können wir auch außerhalb unserer Grenzen Arbeitsstandards und Umweltstandards verwirklichen und sichern. Das heißt, wir brauchen neue Beziehungen zu neuen verlässlichen Partnern in Wachstumsregionen. Ich werde daher die Abkommen mit Chile, Mexiko und Neuseeland zur Ratifizierung vorlegen, und wir treiben die Verhandlungen mit Partnern wie Australien und Indien voran. Wir müssen aus den Fehlern der Vergangenheit lernen. But securing supplies is only a first step. The processing of these metals is just as critical. And today, China controls the global processing industry. Almost 90% – 90% – of rare earths and 60% of lithium are processed in China.  So we will identify strategic projects all along the supply chain, from extracting to refining, from processing to recycling. And we will build up strategic reserves where supply is at risk. This is why today I am announcing a European Critical Raw Materials Act.  We know that this approach can work because remember, five years ago Europe launched the batteries alliance. And soon two-thirds of the batteries we need we will produce here in Europe. That’s a big success story.  Last year, I announced the European Chips Act and the first chips gigafactory will break ground in the coming months. So we now need to replicate this success for raw materials. And this is also why we will increase our financial participation in the important projects of common European interest, the so—called IPCEIs.  And for the future, I will push to create a new European sovereignty fund, because we have to make sure that the future of the industry is made in Europe.  Honourable Members, as we look around at the state of the world today, it can often feel like there is a fading away of what once seemed so permanent. And in some ways the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last week reminded us all of that. She is a legend.  She was a constant throughout the turbulent and transforming events in the last 70 years. Stoic and steadfast in her service. But more than anything, she always found the right words for every moment in time. From the calls she made to war evacuees in 1940 to her historic address during the pandemic. She spoke not only to the heart of her nation, but to the soul of the whole world.  And when I think of the situation we are in today, her words at the height of the pandemic still resonate with me. She said: ‘we will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us’.  She always reminded us that our future is built on new ideas and founded in our oldest values. Since the end of World War II, we have pursued the promise of democracy and of the rule of law. And the nations of the world have built together an international system promoting peace and security, justice and economic progress.  Today, this is the very target of Russian missiles. What we saw on the streets of Bucha, in the scorched fields of grain and now in the gates of Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant, is not only a violation of international rules, it is the deliberate attempt to discard them once and for all. That we have to know. And this watershed moment in global politics calls for a rethink of our foreign policy agenda.  This is the time to invest in the power of our democracies. This work begins with a core group of our like-minded partners, our friends in every single democratic nation on the globe. We see the world with the same eyes. We share the same values. And we should mobilise our collective power to shape global goods. We should strive to expand the core of these democracies.  The most immediate way to do this is to deepen our ties and strengthen democracies on our continent. This starts with those that are already on the path to our Union. We must be at their side by every step and every day, because the path towards strong democracies and the path towards our Union are one and the same.  And so I want the people of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to know – and I think I speak in the name of this noble House – you are part of our family. You are the future of our Union and in our Union. And our Union is not complete without you. This has to be the message.  And we have seen that there is a need to reach out to other countries of Europe beyond the accession process. This is why I support the call for European political community, and we will set out our ideas to the European Council. But our future also depends on our ability to engage beyond the core of our democratic partners. Countries near and far share an interest in working with us on the greatest challenges of this century, such as climate change and digitalisation.  And this is the main idea behind Global Gateway, the investment plan I announced last year right at this place. It is already delivering on the ground. Together with our African partners we’re building two factories in Rwanda and Senegal to manufacture MRNA vaccines. So they will be made in Africa, for Africa, with world-class technology. And we are now replicating this approach across Latin America as a part of a larger engagement strategy that has to pick up now urgently.  All this requires investment on a global scale. So we will team up with our friends in the United States and our friends in the G7 partners to make this happen. In this spirit, President Biden and I will convene a leaders meeting to review and announce implementation projects for this investment.  Honourable Members, this is part of our work of strengthening our democracies. But we should not lose sight of the way foreign autocrats are targeting our own countries. Foreign entities are funding institutions and institutes that undermine our values. The disinformation is spreading from the Internet into the halls of our universities.  Earlier this year, the University of Amsterdam shut down an allegedly independent research centre which was actually funded by Chinese entities. And this centre was publishing so-called research on human rights, dismissing the evidence of forced labour camps for Uyghurs as ‘rumours’.  These lies are toxic for our democracies. And let’s think about this. We introduced legislation to screen foreign direct investment in our companies for security reasons. That’s correct. That’s good that we did it. But if we do that for our economy, shouldn’t we do the same for our values?  We need to better shield ourselves from online interference. And this is why we will present a defence of democracy pact. It will bring forward covert foreign influence. It will shed the light on shady funding. We will not allow any autocracy’s Trojan horses to attack our democracies from within.  For more than 70 years, our continent has marched towards democracy. But the gains of our long journey are not as short. And many of us have taken democracy for granted for too long. Especially those who, like me, who have never experienced what it means to live under the fist of an authoritarian regime.  Today we all see that we must fight for our democracies every single day, every single minute. We must protect them both from the external threats they face, but also from the vice that corrodes them from within. It is my Commission’s duty and the most noble role to protect the rule of law.  So let me assure you, we will keep insisting on judicial independence, and we will make sure that we protect our budget through the conditionality mechanism.  And today I would like to focus on corruption with all its faces. The face of foreign agents trying to influence our political system. The face of shady companies or foundations abusing public money. If we want to be credible when we ask candidate countries to strengthen their democracies, we must also eradicate corruption at home.  And this is why in the coming year, the Commission will present measures to update our legislative framework for fighting corruption. We will raise standards on offences such as illicit enrichment, trafficking in influence and abuse of power beyond the more classic offenses such as bribery. And we will also propose to include corruption in our human rights sanctions regime, our new tool to protect our values abroad.  Honourable Members, our founders only meant to lay the first stone of this democracy. They always thought that future generations would complete their work. And that’s true, we have to do that. It’s an ongoing process. ‘Democracy has not gone out of fashion, but it must update itself in order to keep improving people’s lives’.  You will remember these words. These are the words of our friend David Sassoli – a great European – democracy has not gone out of fashion, but it must update itself in order to keep improving people’s lives. David Sassoli thought that Europe should always look for new horizons.  And through the adversity of these times, we have started to see what our new horizon might be. A braver Union, closer to its people in times of needs. Bolder in responding to historic challenges and the daily concerns of our Europeans. And to walk at their side when they deal with the big trials of life.  This is why the Conference on the Future of Europe was so important. It was a sneak peek of a different kind of citizens’ engagement, well beyond election day. And after Europe listened to its citizens’ voice, we now need to deliver. The citizens’ panels that were central to the Conference will now become a regular feature of our democratic life.  And in the letter of intent that I have sent today to President Metsola and Prime Minister Fiala, I have outlined a number of proposals for the year ahead that stem from the Conference on the Future.  They include, for example, a new initiative on mental health. We should take much better care of our friends and partners and beloved ones, and how many who are burdened with anxiety and who are lost. Appropriate, accessible – accessible, that’s so important – and affordable support can be life-saving.  We know that this support is not there today – accessible, affordable and appropriate support. So we have to make sure with proposals on mental health that we really improve in this subject. It is for some of our fellow Europeans life-saving.  Honourable Members, democratic institutions must constantly gain and regain the citizens’ trust. Just like Europeans did when millions of Ukrainians came knocking on their door. What we saw was and is Europe at its best. A Union of determination and solidarity. But this determination and drive for solidarity is still missing in our migration debate. Our actions towards Ukrainian refugees must not be an exception.  They can be a blueprint for going forward. We need fair and quick procedures, a system that is crisis-proof and quick to deploy, and a permanent and legally binding mechanism that ensures solidarity. And at the same time, we need effective control of our external borders in line with the respect of fundamental rights.  I want a Europe that manages migration with dignity and respect. I want a Europe where all Member States take responsibility for the challenges we all share. I want a Europe that shows solidarity to all Member States. We have progress on the pact. We now have the roadmap, and we now need the political will to move forward and to match.  Honourable Members, three weeks ago I had an incredible opportunity of joining 1 500 young people from all over Europe and all over the world that gathered in Taizé. They have very different views. They come from very different countries. They speak different languages. They have different backgrounds.  And yet, there’s something that connects them. They share a set of values and ideals. They believe in these values. They are determined to reach them. They are passionate about something that is larger than themselves. And this generation is a phenomenal generation. It’s a generation of dreamers and makers.  And in my last State of the Union, I told you that I would like Europe to look more like these young people. We should put their aspirations at the heart of everything we do. And the place for this is in our founding treaties. Every action that our Union takes should be inspired by a very simple principle – that we should do no harm to our children’s future and that we should leave the world a better place for the next generation.  And therefore, honourable Members, I believe that it is time to enshrine solidarity between generations in our treaties. It is time to renew the European promise. And we also need to improve the way we do things and the way we decide things.  Some might say this is not the right time, but if we are serious about preparing for the world of tomorrow, we must be able to act on the things that matter the most for people. And as we are serious about a larger Union, we also have to be serious about reform. So as this Parliament has called for, I believe the moment has arrived for a European Convention.  Honourable Members, they say ‘light shines brightest in the dark’. And that was certainly true for the women and the children fleeing Russia’s bombs. They fled a country at war, filled with sadness for what they had left behind and fear for what may lie ahead. But they were received with open hearts and open arms by many, many citizens like Magdalena and Agnieszka. Two selfless young women from Poland.  As soon as they heard about trains full of refugees, they rushed to the Warsaw central station. They started to organise. They set up a tent to assist as many people as possible. They reached out to supermarket chains for food and to local authorities to organise buses, to hospitality centres. In a matter of days they gathered 3 000 volunteers to welcome refugees 24/7.  Honourable Members, Magdalena and Agnieszka are here with us today. Please stand up.  Magdalena, stand up. Stand up.  Their story is about everything our Union stands and strives for. It is a story of heart, character and solidarity. They showed everyone what Europeans can achieve when we rally around a common cause. This is Europe’s spirit, a Union that stands strong together. A Union that prevails together. Long live Europe.