In Davos, Ursula von der Leyen presents the European Green Deal and shows her support for Ukraine
After two years of pandemic Davos World Economic Forum made a big comeback in the Swiss resort with the theme “Cooperation in a fragmented world”. On this second day, the future of world trade after the war in Ukraine and the lifting of restrictions in China was discussed.
Among the headlines of this first day of debate: the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyenthe Vice Premier of China Liu He or even The first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska.
Unwavering support for Ukraine
From the opening of his speech Ursula von der Leyen He ensured the support of the European Union to Ukraine: “I can assure you that Europe will always be on your side. Many doubted that this support would be so unwavering. But today, more and more European countries are giving Ukraine the necessary weapons. We welcome about 4 million Ukrainians in our cities, homes and homes. And we have so far “We have imposed the strongest sanctions, which will put the Russian economy into a decade of regression and deprive its industry of all modern and critical technologies.”
To provide this support Chairman of the European Commission Europe has announced that it will provide financial assistance in the amount of 3 billion euros, the first tranche of the 18 billion euro package of support measures for 2023. This assistance will strengthen Ukraine’s financial stability, help pay salaries and pensions, and the operation of hospitals, schools and residential services.
Supporting European industrial transition
The European Union will also legislate and support it with state aid to facilitate the green transition of its industry. European Sovereign Fund to prevent businesses from moving to the US.
Ursula von der Leyen said these measures will be part of the European Union’s Green Deal industrial plan to make Europe the home of clean technologies and industrial innovation on the way to zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
“We have a plan. A Green Deal Industrial Plan to make Europe home to clean technologies and industrial innovation on the road to zero emissions. Our Green Deal Industrial Plan will cover four key pillars: regulatory environment, financing, skills and trade.”
The European Union fears its companies will move to the United States, which has a $369 billion program to subsidize green manufacturing. That is why the European Union is committed to financing its industry von der Leyen: “In order to keep European industry attractive, it is necessary to be competitive with the offers and incentives that currently exist outside the European Union. That is why we will propose to temporarily adapt our aid rules to speed them up and simplify them. Easier calculations. Simpler procedures. Faster approvals.”
To protect companies from “unfair competition”.
Ursula von der Leyen also noted that not all EU countries have the same opportunities to support their businesses and the use of state aid alone can lead to unfair competition, “disintegration” it will damage the single market of the European Union. “In the medium term, we will prepare a European sovereign fund as part of the mid-term review of our budget, which will take place at the end of this year.”said on the first day of discussions organized by the official World Economic Forum (WEF)but without specifying how this fund would be financed.
“This is a structural solution that will increase the resources available for upstream research, innovation and strategic industrial projects essential to achieving net zero emissions” CO2, continued the European executive. “However, as it will take time, we will look for a transitional solution to provide fast and targeted support where it is most needed. To this end, we are working hard on a needs assessment.”he added.
The idea of a sovereign fund based on common fundingEuropean Unionalready compiled by Ursula von der Leyen but it faces hostility from many member states, including Germany, with net contributors to the European budget worried about seeing bills swell further.
