During the plenary session (13-16 September 2021) in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Ursula VON DER LEYEN delivers the State of the European Union (SOTEU 2021) to the MEPs. Statement by Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

state of the Union

CIOLOŞ, Dacian (Renew, RO)

state of the European Union 2021 (T)

State of the European Union 2021 debate: Statement by Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/17842001/I210349Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, Madam President, we are now nearly halfway through our mandate that the European electorate conferred on us in 2019, and I have to admit that I am impatient. Of course, you're right to recall the achievements of the union during the pandemic, a historic recovery plan we have to acknowledge and a new role for Europe in the field of health.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, But these achievements were often forced on us by events and on issues that solely depend on the force of will alone. I don't see you producing results all too often. You're engaging in diplomacy with Council instead of policy making with the European Parliament.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, Take, for example, European values, which are the foundation of a union a little bit pretty much everywhere in Europe, we are seeing outbreaks of illiberalism. Judicial independence is being eroded, journalists murdered, minorities discriminated against. These outbreaks of illiberalism need to be put out.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, Madam President, before the fire spreads, and that is your responsibility and you have the means to do so for the moment. I hear your words, but I don't see your deeds and I don't see you, for example, using the Rule of law protection mechanism that the European Parliament has called for in order to protect our budget and to stop financing these illiberal actions in Europe, you have to find the political courage to make use of this mechanism. That's why we adopted it.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, It's been enforced for nearly a year now. And you haven't used it. And if you don't find that courage, madam, we will remind you of your obligation to apply European law by going to the Court of Justice. Madam President, you are engaging in diplomacy with Council instead of policy making with us. And I think it's a mistake.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, On the green agenda, the Green deal and the Climate package that we discussed at length yesterday, but also on the the Migration package, on the Digital agenda. You need our help to get Council to shift. Your role isn't just to make proposals, but it's also to get results and is only in this way that it would be natural for people to trust Europe.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, And I'm impatient as well for you to bring life to the slogan of the geopolitical Commission. This is a concept that you presented at the beginning of your mandate, and we really want to see this being realized.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, The events in Afghanistan remind us how much we need a genuine vision about our defense in all of this, a complex situation of the 21st century that you so well outlined in your statement. And it also reminds us to to what extent our strategic autonomy and even our sovereignty are at stake.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, We have to affirm this so that never again will we find ourselves at the mercy of decisions taken in Washington, Beijing or Moscow. Michel has realized how important this issue is, but I'm not quite sure if this is the case for the geopolitical Commission.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, Perhaps one avenue to explore, madam, would be to take the lead in the battle to vaccinate the part of the world that is not going to be able to manage on its own. Of course, we welcome that 70 percent of the adult European population is vaccinated in Europe. But how can we do? How can we congratulate ourselves when only three percent of the population in Africa has received just one dose at least?

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, So we wrote to you last week to explain how our budget could be used to speed up the vaccination process in the poorest countries. That, Madam President, is an objective worthy of the geopolitical commission.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dacian CIOLOS (RE, RO), Renew Group Leader, And to conclude, last week, our group in Europe proposed to all pro-European forces in this house to enter into a coalition contract, a coalition contract to renew Europe for a Europe of values, for a strong Europe in an unstable world, and for a Europe that delivers results. My question to you, madam, is simple. Do you want to be part of this coalition?