State of the Union
The importance of a united Europe, ensuring solidarity, and working together for Europe to strengthen its international position were some of the key points in European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union speech yesterday morning.
One of the proposals he made was for an additional 10,000 European border guards by 2020, while also stressing that temporary solidarity between member states is not good enough.
During another part of his speech, Juncker said that, “European sovereignty can never be to the detriment of others. Europe is a continent of openness and tolerance. It will remain so. Europe will never become a fortress turning its back on the world, Europe must and will remain a multilateral continent as the world belongs to everyone, not just the few,” the European Commission President said in his last State of the Union address.
Every year in September, the President of the European Commission delivers his State of the Union Address before the European Parliament, taking stock of achievements of the past year and presenting priorities for the year ahead. The President also sets out how the European Commission will address the most pressing challenges the European Union is facing. The speech is followed by a plenary debate.
Juncker said that work will continue over the coming months to ensure that the imperfect union becomes a little more perfect each day. He said that Europe must be a place where freedom of the press is sacrosanct. “Too many of our journalists are intimidated, attacked or even murdered. We must do more to protect our democracy and its agents - the free and fair press.” In Malta, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally assassinated last year. Three people have been accused of her murder however many argue that the person who ordered the killing has yet to be found.
The European commission President said that sometimes history thrusts itself into the life of nations without prior warning.
“This is what happened in WW1, catching the continent off-guard. In 1913 Europeans expected to live through a lasting peace, yet war descended the next year.”
He said that he is not suggesting we are on the verge of a similar catastrophe, but said that the EU is a bringer of peace, and that the EU brought peace to the continent.
“Let us show more respect to the EU, not sully its image. Let us embrace a type of patriotism not directed against others and decry kneejerk nationalism which attacks others and seeks scapegoats.”
The State of the Union in 2018, he said, is that Europe has gotten past the financial crisis. He said there are 239 million people at work in Europe, and that youth unemployment is still too high, even though it is at the lowest level since 2000. He said that the Juncker Plan has triggered €335 billion worth of public and private investment.
“A united Europe is a force to be reckoned with. Some were surprised by my agreement with Donald Trump. But it should be no surprise that Europe succeeds when it speaks with one voice.”
Migration
Juncker addressed the migration situation, and mentioned a reduction in migrants coming through the central migration routes, while also speaking about solidarity issues between EU states.
“Leadership and a spirit of compromise are of course very much needed when it comes to migration. We have made more progress than is often acknowledged. Five of the seven Commission’s proposals to reform our Common European Asylum System have been agreed. Our efforts to manage migration have borne fruit: arrivals have been drastically reduced - down 97% in the Eastern Mediterranean and 80% in the Central Mediterranean. EU operations have helped rescue over 690,000 people at sea since 2015.”
He added that solidarity must be upheld by all EU states if Europe want to retain the Schengen area without internal borders. He said that where internal borders exist, they must be removed as keeping them would be a backward step in Europe.
He said that Europe cannot always talk about ad-hoc solutions whenever there is a new ship, adding there needs to be more lasting and organised solidarity.
“Temporary solidarity is not good enough. We need lasting solidarity. For a balanced migration reform we propose to: strengthen the EU Border Guard, develop the European Asylum Agency, accelerate the return of irregular migrants, open legal pathways.”
Additional 10,000 European border guards by 2020
“We propose to further strengthen the European Border and Coast Guard to better protect our external borders with an additional 10,000 European border guards by 2020.”
He called for the further opening of legal routes of migration to Europe, stressing that the continent is in need of qualified migrants. He said Africa does not need charity, but a true and balanced partnership. “I believe we should develop the numerous European-African trade agreements into a continent-to-continent free trade agreement, as an economic partnership between equals.
“Today, we are proposing a new Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs between Europe and Africa. This Alliance as we envision it - would help create up to 10 million jobs in Africa in the next 5 years alone. We want to create a framework that brings more private investment to Africa. We are not starting from scratch: our External Investment Plan, launched two years ago, will mobilise over €44 billion in both the public and private investment. Alone the projects already in the pipeline will unlock €24 billion. We want to focus our investment where it matters the most. By 2020, the EU will have supported 35,000 African students and researchers with our Erasmus programme. By 2027, this figure should reach 105,000. Trade between Africa and Europe is not insignificant. 36% of Africa’s trade is with the European Union. This compares to 16% for China and 6% for the United States. But this is not enough.”