Europe Week: VDL prepares for annual speech as MEPs return to Strasbourg
The coming week is dedicated to a speech – the annual State of the European Union Address – delivered on Wednesday in Strasbourg by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
One of his memorable moments last year was demanding that LGBT people be treated the same in the EU.
“I will have no rest when it comes to building an equal union. A union where you can be who you are and love whoever you want without fear of recrimination,” von der Leyen said.
She did not, however, directly mention Poland, which at the time had set up so-called LGBT free zones.
Teresa Küchler, EU affairs correspondent for Svenska Dagbladet, told Euronews that not mentioning it was a mistake.
“She held back a lot last year. I mean she could have openly criticized, for example, Poland and Hungary,” Küchler said. “We know that Poland and Hungary have been the subject of much criticism far from basic democratic principles. Yet Ursula von der Leyen did not mention Hungary and Poland at any time during this speech.
She is, however, more optimistic about the speech next week.
“Hopefully this year will see someone who is a bit more cheerful, and also very eager, and also very confident going forward.”
Strasbourg diary
But the speech is not the only item on the agenda of the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg next week.
MEPs will vote on a resolution after the EU defines the conditions for a dialogue with the new Afghan leaders.
Concerns about women’s rights and access to humanitarian aid remain the highest priority for the European Parliament.
MEPs are also expected to give the green light to the so-called EU blue card, to cut red tape for foreign workers.
It includes a lower minimum wage threshold and would facilitate the mobility of foreign workers within the EU.
The aim is to tackle the problem of Europe’s aging population by attracting talent from outside the bloc.
The European Parliament will vote on two laws to make Europe better able to respond to cross-border health threats.
And finally, MEPs will assess a bill threatening media freedom in Poland, and the latest challenges to EU values.
Green bonds
Last week, the European Commission made an announcement on what could be an effective financial mechanism to reduce emissions: green bonds.
The EU will buy up to 250 billion euros of debt and the recipients of the money can only use the money for green projects.
“Eligibility for green bonds is clearly defined,” EU Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Tuesday. “It must be proven that the financed investments have a positive ecological impact. The green bond framework has already passed the first test.”
The green bonds will be used to form part of the €800 billion recovery fund agreed by EU member states to lift the economy out of the pandemic-induced economic crisis.
Krista Tukiainen, head of research at Climate Bonds Initiative, is positive about the prospect of these bonds.
“The way this relates to us ordinary people is, for example, that many of our pensions and other types of retail investment accounts are linked to funds made up of green bonds,” he said. she told Euronews.
But she warned that checks and balances will need to be in place.
“Any type of entity, any type of organization, technically speaking, can issue a green bond. So they can go to the market and say ‘this money I’m setting aside for this instrument is green’, even though I’m still somewhere else invested in fossil fuel assets,” Tukiainen said.
The first sale of EU green bonds is expected to start in October.