BRUSSELS - "It is true that many were absent when Italy needed help at the beginning of this pandemic. And it is true, the EU must now offer an apology to Italy, and it does. But an apology they only apply if you change your behavior. It took a long time for everyone to understand that we have to protect each other. But now the EU is the beating heart of the EU. " So did the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her speech to the European Parliament.
"Dare to defend the European Union. Because this Union of ours will take us" beyond the crisis. "And tomorrow will be strong to the extent that" we are committed to her today. "If you need inspiration, look to the European citizens, who are together, with empathy, humility and humanity. I pay tribute to all of them", stressed the President of the European Commission.
" The European multiannual budget will be the driving force behind the recovery. It will be different than imagined. We will use its power to leverage massive investments that are needed to restart our economy and the internal market after the coronavirus. We will anticipate" funds "with a front loading to start immediately with investments, "explained von der Leyen. On the economic front, he added, "the EU has done more in the past four weeks than it has in the first four years of the last crisis": it has given a collective response, mobilizing over "three trillion euros. But we know that much more will have to be done, because this is a long way and tomorrow's world will be very different from yesterday's . "
The pandemic is "symmetrical, but the recovery will not be, because the economic shock of some regions will be greater than that of others, therefore cohesion and convergence will be even more important than in the past", continued the president of the community executive.
