(Strasbourg/14.09.2022) Today, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the European Union address to the European Parliament. She began by welcoming the Ukrainian President's wife Olena Selenska, who was present in Parliament. Von der Leyen emphasized that there was currently a lot at stake for Europe and the world. It was about the competition between autocracy and democracy. Manuela Ripa, Member of the European Parliament for the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP), welcomes the expressions of solidarity with Ukraine: "Von der Leyen rightly points out that the sanctions against Russia are already considerably weakening the country. It is therefore an important sign that she has emphasized that the sanctions will not be eased as long as Russian aggression continues. It is also important that Ukraine should be given access to the EU internal market so that the country can stabilize economically."

As far as skyrocketing energy prices are concerned, the announced absorption of excessive profits from energy companies is an important step towards relieving the burden on companies and private individuals. This measure is expected to generate 140 billion euros for the Member States. In addition, the transition to renewable energies is to be accelerated in order to free ourselves from dependence on energy imports. However, Manuela Ripa criticizes that the EU Commission should have promoted renewables much more strongly much earlier: "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is now making possible what the threat of climate change has failed to achieve, namely an acceleration of the energy transition. Von der Leyen rightly said in her speech that it was a mistake not to move away from fossil fuels after the oil crisis of the 1970s. However, you have to ask yourself who has been in power for the past years and decades. Von der Leyen was part of a CDU-led government in Germany that slowed down the energy transition wherever possible. The 'Club of Rome' already pointed out the problems of the massive waste of raw materials 50 years ago and called for a rethink."

The MEP hopes that politicians will not be similarly sleepy when it comes to green hydrogen, which is part of the energy transition. It is therefore positive that von der Leyen has announced that three billion euros will be invested in the expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure as part of a "Green Pact for Europe" and that supply and demand will be harmonized by means of a hydrogen bank. However, this must now be followed by action.

As far as trade policy is concerned, the ÖDP politician welcomes the Commission President's statement that the EU wants to make greater efforts to establish trade relations with democratic countries in the future. As far as the negotiations on new free trade agreements announced by von der Leyen are concerned, however, we must take a very close look to see whether this does not undermine fundamental democratic values, says Ripa: "In agreements such as CETA or TTIP, the rights of workers and consumers were curtailed rather than promoted. Environmental standards were also at risk of being lowered. However, this is not acceptable, nor is the establishment of a parallel justice system, as has been promoted with the non-transparent arbitration tribunals. We must not sacrifice our high standards, and in particular the precautionary principle, on the altar of a supposedly blissful free trade. We need fair trade instead of free trade!"

The MEP's conclusion on Ursula von der Leyen's speech is therefore mixed: "The speech showed some good approaches, but many important topics were unfortunately ignored. The dangers of climate change, which we have become aware of this summer as perhaps never before, were only mentioned in passing. And an essential topic such as the extinction of species was not even addressed. Even if the main focus is currently on Russia's war against Ukraine and the associated energy crisis, we must not lose sight of the bigger picture. We need European solutions for a just society worth living in so that the EU and democracy as a whole do not lose their legitimacy," said Manuela Ripa.