Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, gave her first State of the European Union speech on Wednesday morning. The speech focused on the coronavirus pandemic and its economic and health implications.

Ursula von der Leyen gave her first State of the European Union speech on Wednesday morning. She said that the coronavirus pandemic had „laid bare the strains on our health systems” both in Europe and in the world, and also showed how fragile our community of values really were.

She said: as a Union we shared part of our sovereigity for the common good. We turned fear and division between member states into confidence in our union. We showed what is possible when we trust each other and the EU institutions.

Ursula von der Leyen said there was a need for stronger health cooperation in Europe, so she proposed to reinforce and empower the European Medicines Agency and creating a European version of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Ms von der Leyen also announced that in cooperation with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, she would convene a global health summit  to be held next year in Italy. Regarding the health situation, she underlined the need for  strategic stockpiling to address supply chain dependencies, notably for pharmaceutical products.

Ms von der Leyen thanked MEPs for preparing in record time the SURE programme to support workers and companies in the member states, which helped preventing mass unemployment.

Talking about the economic impact of the pandemic, Ms von der Leyen called it a remarkable moment in the history of the EU that Europe has put in place its own common tools to complement national fiscal stabilisers.

The EC president also spoke about the need for the European Union to tear down barriers to the single market, cut the red tape and restore the four fundamental freedoms. She said the linchpin of this was a fully functioning Schengen area of free movement, adding that they would propose a new strategy for the future of Schengen.

Regarding the environment, Ms von der Leyen announced that the European Commission was proposing to increase the 2030 target for emission reduction to at least 55 per cent. She said she was aware that the target was too much for some and not enough for others. However, if others follow Europe s lead, global warming can be kept below 1.5 degrees, she added.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to rapid digital innovation, and the decade ahead of Europe will be a decade of digital transformation, Ms von der Leyen said.

On the situation in the capital market, the Commission president said that deep and liquid capital markets are essential to financing companies in the recovery phase and to further strengthening the international role of the euro.

Ursula von der Leyen highlighted that 37 per cent of Next Generation EU, the 750-billion-euro recovery fund, will be spent on Green Deal projects.

Regarding European industry, Ms von der Leyen said that transformation has accelerated in the last six months, at a time when the global competitive landscape is fundamentally changing. This is why the EU will update its industry strategy in the first half of next year.

The EC president also stressed that Europe sees the changes and crises induced by coronavirus as an opportunity for building a world people want to live in. She added that in the midst of the crisis, the EU intends to make sure that vaccines are widely available and not only for European states.

On complaints from EU member states over slow decision-making, Ursula von der Leyen said they should be courageous and finally move to qualified majority voting – at least on human rights and sanctions implementation. 

As said in the speech, the Commission is putting forward an anti-racism action plan and will appoint an anti-racism coordinator. Nobody should have to put up with hate and a Union of equality must be built, Ms von der Leyen underlined.

On the issue of migration, Ms von der Leyen repeatedly called for joint action. She went on to say that before the end of the month, the Commission will adopt the first annual rule of law report covering all member states. It is a preventive tool for early detection of challenges and for finding solutions, she noted.