State of the European Union: Five takeaways from Ursula von der Leyen's speech

Ursula von der Leyen delivered on Wednesday her State of the European Union speech, blending past achievements with future ambition.

Transcript

00:00 A European Union that answers the call of history.

00:05 This was Ursula von der Leyen's main message in her speech on the State of the European

00:09 Union.

00:10 And by that, the President of the European Commission meant, for this moment in time,

00:15 facing the challenges of the economy.

00:17 As the members of the European Parliament heard, on top of that agenda are China's unfair

00:22 trade practices.

00:24 Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars.

00:31 And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies.

00:37 This is distorting our market.

00:41 And as we do not accept this distortion from the inside in our market, we do not accept

00:47 this from the outside.

00:50 So I can announce today that the Commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation

00:57 into electric vehicles coming from China.

01:05 EU competitiveness was another of her key messages to be achieved through more attention

01:10 to small and medium businesses.

01:13 Europe will do whatever it takes to keep its competitive edge, she said, areas in particular

01:18 to focus on the development of AI and clean industry.

01:24 From wind to steel, from batteries to electric vehicles, our ambition is crystal clear.

01:34 The future of our clean tech industry has to be made in Europe.

01:40 This is our task.

01:43 And the Commission President doubled down on European support to Ukraine, announcing

01:47 the intention to extend temporary protection for Ukrainians in the EU.

01:51 She also nudged the EU's doors open to new member states again, championing the enlargement

01:57 of the EU in parallel with its reform, including through a European Convention and treaty change

02:03 if and where it is needed.

02:06 This House has said it out loud.

02:09 The future of Ukraine is in our union.

02:13 The future of the Western Balkans is in our union.

02:17 The future of Moldova is in our union.

02:22 Just nine months ahead of the European elections, she proudly pointed to the delivery of over

02:27 90 per cent of the political guidelines presented in 2019.

02:35 So it is time for Europe to once again think big and write our own destiny.

02:42 This could be interpreted as an election manifesto to lead the next Commission, except she did

02:47 not mention any intentions on her part.

02:49 (audience applauding)

02:52 (whooshing)