Thank you very much President Metsola, dear Roberta,
Prime Minister Fiala, dear Petr,
Honourable Members,
I think we all still have in our minds the images from the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when ordinary Ukrainians, unarmed, faced off against Russian soldiers. They talked to the soldiers, sometimes screaming at them, speaking truth to the absurdity of this war. Those images have reminded us of another invasion, and another episode of European resistance against oppression: Prague in 1968. The immortal scenes of peaceful protesters, men and women, young and old, standing against Soviet tanks on the streets of Prague. So today, I can hardly imagine a better country to take over the EU Council Presidency than Czechia. The Czech people know the ordeal of oppression. But most importantly, they know the value of resistance, the power of hope, and above all the unbridled joy of becoming once again a free and democratic country. And today, more than ever before, we need that passion for freedom, that drive for independence and self-determination in our European Union. And, so dear Petr, I am looking forward to Czechia’s Presidency of the Council over the next six months.
The tasks ahead of us are enormous. You, Petr, have summed them up with three words: Rethink, Repower, Rebuild. Of course, the word rebuild calls to mind, first and foremost, the reconstruction of Ukraine. I have just returned – where I also met you, Petr – from the Lugano Reconstruction Conference. And I think we witnessed a very impressive presentation of Ukraine’s reconstruction plan. Representatives from more than 40 countries and organisations agreed on the Lugano principles: Ukraine-owned, reform-focused, transparency, accountability and rule of law, democratic participation, gender equality and inclusion, and sustainability. And I think that these are good principles, now we have to fill them with life. For doing that, we need the best and the brightest on reconstruction. This is why, together with the German G7 Presidency, we will convene such a high-level conference after summer. Because we all know: never ever before have we mastered such a colossal reconstruction challenge. So we need all hands on deck. And while we work in these days to help Ukraine win this war, we must also make sure that Ukraine wins the peace that will for sure come. You, Honourable Members, were the first to call for the European perspective for Ukraine. This led to the historic decision to grant Ukraine candidate status. I think that we can really take pride in this because our Union lived up to the moment. We did exactly what Václav Havel reminded us of in his speech which also provides the motto for your Presidency. He has said: ‘It is not that the united part of Europe would come to harm if it expanded. Just the opposite: In the long run, it would come to harm only if it failed to expand.’ And I think, in these days, that really sounds like a prophecy.
The second task that you, the Czech Presidency, identified is Repower. The unity and the resolve we showed towards Russia will also be key to repower Europe. And this means, primarily, to push forward the very ambitious agenda of our European Green Deal. Because climate change will not wait until Putin’s war is over. The unprecedented heatwave that recently struck Europe is just the latest reminder of that. I am very glad that both Parliament and Council have taken their positions on Fit for 55. Now, it is up to the Czech Presidency to bring forward the trilogues. I am also very grateful for your commitment, dear Petr, to bring forward the REPowerEU package. With REPowerEU, we are mobilising substantive new resources for renewable energy. It is a EUR 300 billion plan to win independence from Russian fossil fuels, actually from any fossil fuels. To do so, we are first and foremost diversifying our gas supplies away from Russia towards trustworthy, reliable suppliers. And our efforts are already making a big difference. I have reported several times here in the Parliament about that, so let me update you about what the latest efforts are. Since March, global LNG exports, other than from Russia, to Europe have risen by 75% compared to 2021. LNG exports from the United States to the European Union have nearly tripled. I think that even more important is that, at the same time, the average monthly import of Russian pipeline gas to the European Union is now sharply declining by 33% compared to last year – last year June compared to this year June, minus 33%. So we are making progress and that is exactly what we wanted to have. But we know that all of this will only work – the diversifying away from Russia and having energy security of supply – if we speed up the transition to renewable energies. This is the key remedy. Now, I observed that some say that in the new security environment after Russia’s aggression, we have to slow down the green transition. This transition would come at ‘the cost of basic security’, they say. Just the opposite is true. If we all do nothing but compete about the limited fossil fuels that are out there, the prices will just go through the roof and we will fill Putin’s war chest. And that is exactly what we do not want to have. Therefore, the best, the cleanest and the safest way out of the dependency on fossil fuels are renewables. So the new security environment is the best argument to speed up deployment of renewables. Renewables are home-grown. They give us independence from Russian fossil fuels. They are more cost-efficient. And they are cleaner than anything else. So let us take the opportunity and really invest in the renewable energy.
Honourable Members,
But we also need to prepare now for further disruptions of gas supply and even a complete cut-off of Russian gas supply. Just to give you a figure: today, 12 Member States are already directly affected by partial or total cut-off of Russian gas. It is obvious: Putin continues to use energy as a weapon. This is why the Commission is working on a European emergency plan. We will present this plan and the necessary instruments by mid-July. Member States have their national contingency plans. That is good, but I think that we need European cooperation and we need common action as 27. We need to make sure that in case of full disruption, the gas flows towards where it is most needed. We have to provide for European solidarity. And we need to protect the Single Market as well as industry supply chains.
And here, Honourable Members, we should never forget the bitter lesson that we learnt at the beginning of the pandemic. You remember it very well. At the beginning, we had egoism and protectionism, closed borders, export bans, you name it, that lead only to disunity and fragmentation. But with European unity and coordination, we then after a while had the key remedies to overcome this brutal pandemic. So let us keep these principles in mind. As always, let us hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. I know that this is hard work ahead of us. But like in the last months, unity will be key to our success.
Honourable Members,
You know as well as I do – in all Member States concern about the economy is growing. Deficits have soared as a result of COVID-19. And then, as the economy was just recovering, Russia´s vicious attack on Ukraine began. Driving prices up, everywhere from food to energy. At the same time, investment continues to be vital for a successful transition to a green, digital and resilient economy. Therefore, we have to rethink and here again your motto comes in handy, dear Petr. We have to rethink how we can create growth against the backdrop of a completely changed political and economic environment. Take the rules for our economic governance. We need rules designed to reconcile higher investment needs with the need to safeguard sound fiscal policies. Because one goes with the other: fiscal sustainability and growth. We will present the results of our review of economic governance under the Czech Presidency.
Or take our Single Market and our trade relations with strong partners around the globe – as you have already mentioned. Both are real assets in times of crisis. They are the strongest drivers of growth in Europe. And we should rethink how to make them even stronger. The new Free-Trade Agreement that we were able to conclude with New Zealand last week is an important case in point. This new agreement will help increase trade between the EU and New Zealand by 30%. But not only that: for the first time it also contains unprecedented social and climate commitments. This shows that strong democracies deliver for their people.
Honourable Members,
In his Aachen speech, Václav Havel spoke about ‘Europe as a Task’. The task of Europe today, he said, is to rediscover its conscience and its responsibility. It is beautiful. And this is exactly what we will continue to do with the support of our Czech friends.
Dear Petr,
I have seen it with my own eyes and heard what you reported to me when I visited Czechia last week. And thank you again for this wonderful reception. The Czech people opened their hearts and their homes to refugees. They do miracles for thousands and thousands of Ukrainian refugees hosted in the Czech Republic. This is, in the Havel sense, Europe with a conscience and taking its responsibility. This is Europe at its best.
Long live Europe.