[EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT STRASBOURG 15 SEPTEMBER 2021 STATE OF THE UNION]

If I look at the state of the union today,

I see a strong soul in everything that we do.

In the biggest global health crisis for a century,

we chose to go it together and we can be proud of it.

The next year will be another test of character.

[SPEEDING UP GLOBAL VACCINATION]

A pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint.

Our first – and most urgent – priority is to speed up global vaccination.

We have already committed to share 250 million doses.

The Commission will add a new donation

of another 200 million doses until the middle of next year.

[PREPARING EUROPE TO BETTER DEAL WITH HEALTH CRISES]

The second priority is to continue our efforts here in Europe.

Let’s do everything possible

that this does not turn into a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

The final priority is to strengthen our pandemic preparedness.

Today we are delivering.

With our proposal we get the HERA authority up and running.

I am proposing a new health preparedness and resilience mission

for the whole of the EU.

[A NEW EUROPEAN CHIPS ACT]

Allow me to focus on semi-conductors,

We depend on state-of-the-art chips manufactured in Asia.

So this is not just a matter of our competitiveness.

This is also a matter of tech sovereignty.

We will present a new European Chips Act.

We need to link together

our world-class research, design and testing capacities.

[EMPOWERING OUR YOUTH]

Europe needs all of its youth.

We must step up our support to those who fall into the gaps.

For them, we will put in place a new program - ALMA.

ALMA will help these young Europeans to find temporary work experience

in another Member State.

We will propose to make 2022 the Year of European Youth.

A year dedicated to empowering those who have dedicated so much to others.

[STEPPING UP THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE]

Climate change is only man-made.

But since it is man-made, we can do something about it.

I am proud to announce today

that the EU will double its external funding for biodiversity,

in particular for the most vulnerable countries.

Every country has a responsibility!

In Mexico and in Paris,

the major economies committed to provide 100 billion dollars a year until 2025.

We deliver on our commitments.

TeamEurope contributes 25 billion dollars a year.

My message today is that Europe is ready to do more.

We will now propose an additional 4 billion euro

for climate finance until 2027.

But we expect the United States and our partners to step up too.

It is time to deliver now.

We have no time to wait anymore.

[ADDRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES]

We stand by the Afghan people.

We must do everything to avert the real risk

of a major famine and humanitarian disaster.

We will increase again humanitarian aid for Afghanistan by 100 million euro.

This will be part of a new, wider Afghan Support Package

that we will present in the next weeks to combine all our efforts.

[TAKING EUROPE’S DEFENCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL]

There is simply no security and defence issue

where less cooperation is the answer.

This is why we are working with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg

on a new EU-NATO Joint Declaration to be presented before the end of the year.

Europe can – and clearly should - be able and willing

to do more on its own.

What we need is the European Defence Union.

First, we need to build the foundation for collective decision-making

and this is what I call situational awareness.

It is vital that we improve intelligence cooperation.

This is why the EU could consider its own

Joint Situational Awareness Centre.

Secondly, we need to improve interoperability.

Third, we cannot talk about defence without talking about cyber.

We need a European Cyber Defence Policy,

including legislation on common standards

under a new European Cyber Resilience Act.

Under the French Presidency, President Macron and I

will convene a Summit on European defence.

[THE NEXT GENERATION OF PARTNERSHIPS]

It is time for Europe to step up to the next level.

If Europe is to become a more global player,

it also needs to focus on the next generation of partnerships.

In this spirit, today’s new EU-Indo-Pacific strategy is a milestone.

It reflects the growing importance of the region

to our prosperity and security.

We will soon present our new connectivity strategy

called Global Gateway.

We want investments in quality infrastructure

connecting people, goods and services around the world.

We want to create links and not dependencies!

[BANNING FORCED LABOUR]

There are 25 million people out there,

who are threatened or coerced into forced labour.

We can never accept that they are forced to make products

and that these products then end up for sale in shops here in Europe.

So we will propose a ban on products on our market

that have been made by forced labour.

Human rights are not for sale at any price.

[STAYING TRUE TO OUR VALUES]

Societies that build on democracy and common values,

stand on stable ground.

We are determined to defend these values.

And we will never waver in that determination.

Our values are guaranteed by our legal order

and safeguarded by the judgments of the European Court of Justice.

These judgments are binding.

Our Rule of Law reports are part of this process.

And from 2022, our Rule of Law reports

will come with specific recommendations to Member States.

[ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN]

But freedom also means freedom from fear.

And during the pandemic, too many women were deprived of that freedom.

And those women must have their freedom and their self-determination back.

This is why by the end of the year, we will propose

a law to combat violence against women.

[PROTECTING MEDIA FREEDOM]

We must protect those who create transparency - the journalists.

That is why today we have put forward a recommendation

to give journalists better protection.

And we need to stop those who threaten media freedom.

Their independence is essential.

Europe needs a law that safeguards this independence

and the Commission will deliver a Media Freedom Act in the next year.

Imperfect as we might be,

our Union is both beautifully unique and uniquely beautiful.

It is a Union with a soul.