Europe Week: VDL ready for annual speech amid MEPs return to Strasbourg
The coming week will be devoted to a single speech – the annual State of the European Union speech – delivered on Wednesday in Strasbourg by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
One of his memorable moments last year was demanding that LGBT people be treated equally in the EU.
“I am not going to rest when it comes to building a union of equality. A union where you can be who you are and love whoever you want without fear of recrimination,” said von der Leyen.
However, she did not directly mention Poland, which at the time had set up so-called LGBT-free zones.
Teresa Küchler, European 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 criticized, for example, Poland and Hungary openly,” Küchler said. far from basic democratic principles. Yet Ursula von der Leyen never mentioned Hungary and Poland in this speech.
She is, however, more optimistic about next week’s speech.
“I hope this year will see someone a little more cheerful, and also very enthusiastic, and also very confident to move forward.”
Strasbourg agenda
But the speech is not the only item on the agenda for the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg next week.
MEPs will vote on a resolution after the EU sets the conditions for engaging with the new Afghan leadership.
Concerns about women’s rights and access to humanitarian aid remain the top priority of the European Parliament.
MEPs are also expected to give the green light to the EU’s so-called 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 the aging of the European population by attracting talent from outside the bloc.
The European Parliament will vote 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 cut emissions – green bonds.
The EU will buy up to € 250 billion in debt and the recipients of the money will only be able to use the money for green projects.
“Eligibility for green bonds is clearly defined,” EU Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Tuesday. “We have to prove 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 stimulus fund agreed by EU member states to lift the economy out of the economic slump caused by the pandemic.
Krista Tukiainen, Head of Research at the Climate Bonds Initiative is positive about the prospect of these bonds.
“The way this relates to us common people is, for example, that many of our pensions and other types of retail investment accounts are tied to funds made up of green bonds,” he said. -she declared to Euronews.
But she warned that checks and checks will need to be put 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 that I’m saving for this instrument is green’, even though I’m still invested in fossil fuel assets elsewhere, ”Tukiainen said.
The first sale of EU green bonds is expected to start in October.