European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called this Wednesday to vote in the European elections, due in less than a year, to determine the “type of Europe” you want, ensuring you deliver on 90% of your promises.
“In less than 300 days, Europeans will go to the polls in our unique and wonderful democracy. As with any election, this will be a time for people to reflect on the state of our Union and the work done by those who represent it.” but this will also be the moment when they decide what kind of future and what kind of Europe they want,” said Ursula von der Leyen in her 2023 State of the Union speech at the plenary session of the European Parliament. , in the French city of Strasbourg.
Speaking for the fourth time since taking office, his last in that term, the community leader appealed to the voices of the youngest voters voting for the first time, noting that voters in the June 2024 European elections would be “the youngest born in 2008, in year of the financial crisis.”
Brussels wants to use wind energy in industry
The European Commission will introduce a package of legislation on wind energy to work in cooperation with industry and Member States to create more and more environmentally friendly production within the framework of the European Green Pact.
Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Brussels will focus “on skills, access to finance and stable supply chains.”
“But this is broader than one sector. From wind to steel, batteries to electric vehicles, our ambition is very clear: the future of our cleantech industry must be created in Europe,” he added.
Inflation: a long-term problem
The President of the European Commission acknowledged that high inflation in the European Union (EU) is a “serious economic problem” that will “take some time” to resolve and announced a report on European competitiveness.
“Another serious economic problem is the persistence of high inflation. Christine Lagarde [presidente] and the European Central Bank [BCE] making every effort to keep inflation under control, [mas] We know that the return to the ECB’s medium-term target will take some time,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
Speaking for the fourth time since taking office, his last in that term, the official listed “three major economic challenges for the industry next year.”
These include “labor and skills shortages, inflation” and the need to “promote business activity” in the context of subdued economic growth, the fallout from the war in Ukraine and tight monetary policies that are hampering access to finance.
Such challenges come, according to the community executive leader, at a time when industry is also called upon to lead the clean transition, meaning there is an urgent need to “look to the future” and determine how the EU can remain competitive.
For this reason, von der Leyen asked Mario Draghi, the former ECB president and “one of Europe’s greatest economic minds, to prepare a report on the future of European competitiveness.”
Inflation has been falling in recent months after reaching historic levels due to the economic reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy crisis and the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine, but is still above the 2% target. ECB for price stability.
To achieve this, the ECB has tightened monetary policy, consistently raising interest rates, but now at a slower pace.
EU organizes summit to reinvent labor market
The Social Partners Summit will return next year, during the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), to strengthen the European labor market and adapt it to the future, the President of the European Commission said today.
“We need to improve access to the labor market, especially for youth and women. We need skilled migration and, in addition, we need to respond to deep-rooted changes in technology, society and demographics,” says Ursula von der Leyen. .
Von der Leyen added that “there is a need to rely on the expertise of businesses and trade associations,” “collective bargaining partners.”
Recalling that almost 40 years have passed since Jacques Delors organized this meeting in Val Duchess and “witnessed the birth of European social dialogue”, the representative said that since then the social partners have formed the Union and ensured the prosperity of millions of people.
“And now, as the world around us changes faster and faster, social partners must once again be at the center of our future. Together we need to focus on new challenges facing the labor market, skills and labor shortages. arising thanks to artificial intelligence,” he added.
Southern EU cork oaks are among the species in need of protection
The President of the European Commission has warned of the need to protect the European Union’s (EU) unique biodiversity, such as the cork oak trees in the south, and the “reality of a planet in flux”.
“From the mighty coniferous forests of the North and East, through the last remnants of virgin oak and beech forests in Central Europe to the cork oak forests of Southern Europe: all these forests are an indispensable source of goods and services,” and show biodiversity must be protected, von der Leyen said.
Along with nature conservation, food security is also a top priority in the EU, said the leader of the Community Executive, recalling that climate change causes droughts, forest fires, floods and floods.
EU budget approved and agreed with MERCOSUR this year
“European companies need access to key technologies for innovation, development and production. […] maintaining European advantage in critical and new technologies is an economic and national security imperative, [mas] This European industrial policy also requires common European funding,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
That is why, according to the Community Executive, the European Commission recently proposed a review to strengthen the EU’s long-term budget and create a Strategic Technology Platform for Europe (STEP) to support European leadership in the uptake of critical technologies. technologies.
“WITH [plataforma] STEP, we can increase, use and direct EU funds to invest in everything from microelectronics to quantum computing and artificial intelligence, from biotech to cleantech, and our companies need this support now, which is why I am calling for our budget proposal to be agreed quickly.” . – said Ursula von der Leyen.
“I know I can count on this assembly,” he added, referring to the debate between fellow legislators (the Council and the European Parliament).
Speaking about Europe’s competitiveness, the official defended his commitment to “open and fair trade.”
“We have now concluded new free trade agreements with Chile, New Zealand and Kenya, and our goal is to conclude agreements with Australia, Mexico and MERCOSUR by the end of this year, and shortly thereafter with India and Indonesia,” he said . , arguing that “smart trade creates good jobs and prosperity.”
Ending the plague of human trafficking
“We need to work with our partners to tackle this scourge of human trafficking. That’s why the Commission is organizing an international conference on combating human trafficking,” the spokesman said.
The European Union (EU), in his opinion, needs to strengthen law enforcement activities and “a more visible role” for the agencies involved in combating this crime – Europol, Eurojust and Frontex.
The law on artificial intelligence and support for supercomputers has been approved
Ursula von der Leyen called on European Union (EU) member states and the European Parliament to quickly approve a new artificial intelligence (AI) law, and announced a European supercomputing initiative.
“We have introduced the AI Bill – the world’s first comprehensive AI innovation bill – and I want to thank the House and Council for their tireless work on this ground-breaking legislation. Our Artificial Intelligence Bill is already a model for the whole world. [mas] We must now focus on adopting the rules and implementing them as quickly as possible,” von der Leyen said.
While fellow EU legislators (member states and the European Parliament) have been negotiating these first community rules since June last year to ensure AI systems are safe and respect fundamental rights, the leader of the European Commission has identified it as a priority to “ensure that AI has evolved in a human-centered, transparent and accountable manner.”
“I believe that Europe, together with its partners, must pave the way for a new global artificial intelligence system based on three pillars: protective barriers, governance and innovation leadership,” he said.
In her State of the Union speech, the official emphasized that “Europe has become a leader in supercomputing, with three of the five most powerful supercomputers in the world.”
“We need to take advantage of this fact, so I can announce a new initiative to open up our high-performance computers to artificial intelligence startups to train their models,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
Portugal, for example, this month opened a new supercomputer at the University of Minho that will be the fastest in Portugal, capable of performing 10 million billion (ten petaflops) calculations per second, multiplying high-performance computing performance by 10 times. a country.
Ursula von der Leyen noted that in recent years, “Europe has taken a leading role in managing the risks of the digital world” through new laws on digital services and markets, facing challenges such as “disinformation, the spread of harmful content, risks to data privacy. “
“The same should happen with artificial intelligence,” he added.
The community executive leader defended the creation of a body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change under the United Nations, but dedicated to AI, “about the risks and their benefits for humanity.”
In 2021, the European Commission presented this proposal to regulate artificial intelligence systems, the first legislation at EU level, which aims to protect the fundamental values and rights of the EU, as well as the safety of users, by requiring systems considered high risk to comply with mandatory requirements related to its reliability .
This will therefore be the first regulation aimed at AI, although the creators and those responsible for developing this technology are already subject to European legislation on fundamental rights, consumer protection and safety regulations.