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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her speech to the European Parliament
Photo: YVES HERMAN / REUTERS
For the second time, Ursula von der Leyen, as President of the EU Commission, spoke to the European Parliament on the »State of the Union« - and placed a focus on the international community's ability to act militarily.
In her speech, von der Leyen announced that he wanted to strengthen the EU militarily in close cooperation with NATO.
One must be able to intervene militarily without the help of the USA.
Lack of political will
“You can have the most advanced armed forces in the world, but if you're never ready to use them, what good is it?
It's not just about capacity constraints, it's also about a lack of political will, "said the Commission President.
A defense summit has therefore already been scheduled for the French presidency in the first half of 2022.
There should also be new defense mechanisms in cyber defense.
In the speech, von der Leyen also spoke about strengthening economic independence and the fight against corona and climate change.
She announced that she would double the financial resources against the decline in biodiversity.
"My message today is: 'Europe is ready to do more'".
In her speech, Von der Leyen also referred to the special responsibility of large economies in the fight against climate change and against Corona.
Not a sprint, but a marathon
To combat the pandemic, the Commission President announced that she would provide 200 million additional doses of vaccine to countries outside Europe by the middle of next year.
"A pandemic isn't a sprint, it's a marathon," she continued.
She believes that Corona will still put the character of Europe to the test in the next year.
The State of the Union address is given every September by the EU Commission President.
This is followed by a debate with the MEPs.
Von der Leyen has been Commission President since December 1, 2019.
The tasks of the authority with around 32,000 employees include making proposals for new EU laws and ensuring compliance with the European treaties.
In order to ensure compliance with EU law, it can also, for example, file actions against member states before the European Court of Justice.
muk / dpa / Reuters