LEADERS’ VIEWS
Ursula von der Leyen President, European Commission Weathering crises with resilience
think it is a very telling success that last year for the very first time, the European Union was able to produce more electricity from wind than it did from gas. This was a big success … In our decade now, our cross-border electricity transmission capacity must double … The third priority is to address the labour and skills shortage that affects our economy. And it is obvious, we have, as I said, a very low unemployment [rate]. So, we need to train as many as possible of our unemployed, and specifically have a look at youth unemployment. Because, as we have a very low unemployment rate on average, we still have a higher youth unemployment rate than the average. Every young person has great potential, even if they might be struggling with obstacles of all kinds. Let us make sure that they get the chance they deserve. We also have to increase women’s access to the labour market. Parents need infrastructure. It is very simple: affordable and accessible childcare, good schools and flexible working hours are an absolute must. Finally, we can offer more flexible solutions for silver workers to continue their careers, and we need to attract the right talents from abroad. It is a whole bundle of activities that have to be done to address the skills shortage. We are investing EUR 65 billion in skills, they are coming from NextGenerationEU and the European Social Fund, and skills must continue to be at the heart of our action. Finally, let us never forget that Europe is a trading continent, and we derive a significant share of our prosperity from trade. If it is true that in the next decade 90% of the most significant growth is happening in regions outside the European Union, we should tap into it. And our Union is second to none in negotiating trade deals. We have the largest network of trade agreements in the world, with a total of 74 countries. The value of EU trade through these agreements surpassed EUR 2 trillion for the first time in 2022. And beyond exports, we need to secure imports, for example, of the critical raw materials that our industry needs. But … global trade also needs to be fair. We need a global level playing field. And we need to address the risks that come with our openness. We need for example tools to address issues of overcapacity produced outside the European Union. I am speaking of structural overproduction, which is achieved to a large extent with massive subsidies. It has to go somewhere, this overproduction. Others are closing their markets. So our market is an attractive destination and we have to be very vigilant that our producers are not at risk [of being] forced out of the market. And we also need to involve developing economies around the world on this topic, because their industrialisation is also threatened directly by overcapacity. We need a more structural response with our partners. Work is starting on this in the G7. European Parliament Plenary, 23 April 2024
S ince the last European elections, our Union has really weathered two crises of historic proportions – the COVID-19 health crisis and the war in Ukraine, with a ‘made-in-Russia’ energy crisis. They could have turned into a dramatic economic and social crisis. But they did not. This was because of Europe’s great resilience but also because we put the right policies in place. Think of SURE. SURE saved 40 million European jobs. Or think of NextGenerationEU or REPowerEU, which fast-tracked the recovery and the deployment of home-grown renewables. I have not forgotten that in 2020, many predicted mass unemployment in Europe, and a long recession. It did not happen because we put the right policies in place and we acted decisively. Instead, today we have more people at work than at any other time in European history. Unemployment is at an all-time low, at less than 6%. Employment is at an all-time high, at more than 75%. And inflation is now close to our 2% target … I want to look at four of the basic factors that determine costs, prices and productivity in Europe. Let me start with finance. Since we took office almost five years ago, we have unleashed an unprecedented wave of public investments in strategic sectors. Take energy and clean tech. We are investing EUR 400 billion from NextGenerationEU, and we have approved over EUR 550 billion in national public support, for clean tech and energy investment. This has been crucial. But certainly public investment is not enough. The time has come for a systemic solution that mobilises Europe’s immense private capital. And an essential part of this solution is to complete the Capital Markets Union … The second priority is reducing the cost of energy. Energy costs continue to affect our competitiveness, specifically for energy-intensive industries. But the International Energy Agency tells us that there might be some relief in sight. You remember very well that last year, during the LNG [liquefied natural gas] energy crisis, there were many investments that have been done. Now, a large wave of new LNG export projects is coming to the market. Therefore, we might soon be moving from a global shortfall to an abundance of
LNG. As a result, we expect gas prices to fall. This gives us space to further develop renewable energies. And I
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globalgovernanceproject.org
2024 — G7 ITALY: THE APULIA SUMMIT
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