State of the Union 2016

DeHavilland EU Introduction Introduction President Jean-Claude Juncker this morning delivered his second annual State of the Union address in the , which was then debated by MEPs.

President Juncker referenced a number of ongoing struggles faced by the union - on free movement, rule of law, and taxation - and spoke of what the EU could do for young people, to protect its steel industry from dumping, and on protecting borders.

Continue reading for a full report on President Juncker’s speech and the reaction from MEPs. See below for a summary of the more concrete measures proposed today:

At home • Double the size and the scope of the European Fund for Strategic Investments • Accelerate the Capital Markets Union • Table a package of measures under the Digital Single Market: on copyright, 5G deployment, and wireless internet • Continue to push for the proposed amendment of the Posted Workers Directive • Reinforce the powers of Europol • Create a European Travel Information System for arrivals

Abroad • A new Investment Plan for Africa and the Neighbourhood • Create a European Solidarity Corps • A European Strategy for Syria, with High Representative Federica Mogherini as a full ‘European Foreign Minister’ • Create a single HQ for EU military operations & move towards common military assets • Create a European Defence Fund • Ratify the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA) as soon as possible

Jean-Claude Juncker’s speech | Reactions from MEPs Speech of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker movement of persons and goods will State of the Union gain access to the single market. Live Report by Alexander Saeedy, Nearly 30 million jobs in Europe de- journalist for DeHavilland EU pend on exports, Juncker stated. For every additional €1 billion increase in President of the European Commission export volumes, come at least 40,000 Jean-Claude Juncker recalled what he jobs, and on these grounds, the Com- said one year ago before the European mission remained in support of a free- Parliament: “inside our Union there trade agreement with Canada, he said. isn’t enough Union”. “Despite the pro- gress made, it still applies”, he said. Likewise, Juncker called upon Member States to ratify the COP21 Paris Treaty There were still many areas in Eu- soon as possible, particularly in the rope where Europeans find common wake of the US and China’s agreement ground, Juncker said, but he noted that to ratify the treaty at this month’s G20 it was never the Commission’s inten- summit. “Dragging out feet under- tion to turn Europe into a “colourless mines our credibility”, he said. melting pot”. While the EU was not a ‘United States Populism had created problems in of Europe’, it was an ultimately strong- Europe, he added, but he noted the er and more diverse union, Juncker ar- Image courtesy of European People’s Party positive progress Europe made against gued. But, the citizens of Europe cannot unemployment in the past year. How- be fooled and must be clearly reckoned economic growth and fundamental The Commission would also stand by ever, “Europe is not social enough, with, he said. rights, he said. The EU likewise needed European farmers, he added. let’s be clear”, he said. Debt in Europe to build a social market economy continued to be too high, he continued, He added that it was time to overcome without social dumping, he said, and The European Central Bank’s monetary and he said “intelligent flexibility” was the divisions of East and West that had he called attention to the Commission’s policy had saved the Eurozone €50 needed above and beyond a compact recently festered. Europe was ulti- delivery of a substantial crackdown on billion in interest payments, Juncker that could hinder economic growth. mately a force for peace, from Spain to tax evasion. claimed. Government should take this Cyprus, and it was no coincidence that opportunity for proactive public invest- Some saw Brexit as the beginning of an unprecedented period of peace had Being “European” also meant stand- ment and debt reduction, he argued, a disintegration process in the EU, he come with the foundation of the Euro- ing up for the EU’s steel industry and and he endorsed the goals set out in the said, but he concluded that “the Union pean Communities, he said. protecting it from unfair competition, Five Presidents’ Report of 2015. as such is not at risk”. Relations with Juncker stated. “We should not be naïve the UK must remain on a friendly basis, Europe stood against the death penalty free traders”, he said, and he pointed to Juncker added that the Commission but only those who accept the free and supported independent, effective the American reply to Chinese oversup- was prepared to bring forward reform systems of justice, which support both ply as a possible example for the EU. for Europe’s telecommunication market

DeHavilland EU and to proactively support increased accept that Generation Y will be poorer consequences of the Syrian civil war, it will of Europe’s current politicians to internet connectivity. than their parents”, he said, and he had no role in its resolution, he noted. move past its current cleavages. “His- noted the possible influence of a Euro- tory will not remember us, but it will He also noted the Commission’s pean Youth Guarantee to build a social He also added that Europe could no remember us for our errors. May our proposed overhaul of copyright rules. framework for apprenticeships and longer depend on individual Member errors not put an end to the European “Journalists and authors should be paid work across the . States’ defence capabilities and sig- dream”, he concluded. fairly, whether they publish through nalled to the creation of a European printers or through hyperlinks”, he He noted that there was increased soli- defence union. While he insisted that said. darity in the EU’s approach to the refu- “more European defence does not gee crisis, but he argued that solidarity mean less transatlantic cooperation, He also praised the European Fund for must be voluntary and called upon the plan justifies itself completely” in Key Documents Strategic Investments (EFSI), which had the Slovak Presidency of the European economic terms. He also proposed the already raised €160 billion for Europe- Council to bridge differences between creation of a European defence fund to • Transcript of speech [here] an investment. The Commission was Member States concerning migrant pool funds for R&D. • SotEU brochure [here] proposing today to double the duration integration. of the fund, and with the Parliament’s Europe must be better explained to support, the fund could expand to €500 Europe must fight against terrorism, its citizens, Juncker argued. He had billion of active investment by 2020. Juncker said. The EU had seen more encouraged all of his Commissioners to than 30 terrorist attacks in the past year routinely visit national parliaments in Europe needs good banks since its and it was paramount that it remain the past year, he said, and he swatted economy depends primarily on bank united in its reply to the threats, he aside slanderous critiques of the Com- credit, Juncker said. However, he argued. mission as isolated, overpaid, and out called for the greater acceleration of the of touch. EU’s Capital Markets Union. It would He noted the importance of Europe’s increase the financial system’s resil- frontiers and institutions like Frontex The Commission focused on those ar- iency, he said, and it would offer more in the struggle to keep the EU safe. A eas where it could deliver value added alternatives to bank financing. border-crossing registry was integral to the EU and where solidarity and sub- to the Union’s defence, he said, and sidiarity met each other, he said. The success of the EFSI inspired the he noted the Commission’s November Commission to propose an investment proposal on an automatized passenger Juncker noted that he and the Europe- plan for Africa and the EU’s eastern information system. an project were nearly the same age. neighbourhood, Juncker announced, There would always be pessimists and and it would offer crucial support in Juncker insisted that Europe consider optimists, but in between the two lay development aid for both areas, he said. what role it wanted to play on a global a great political space for action and stage. If it were content to be a soft initiative, he said. Juncker also insisted that the EU power, it must be content with having needed to invest in its youth. “I will not no seat at the table concerning Syria, he “Europe has a great mission in the said. While the EU suffered from the world”, he said, and he called upon the

DeHavilland EU Reaction from MEPs pump the breaks”, he said. President Views from the Council S&D Europe needed concrete solutions to its Juncker attempted to brand his speech problems, he said. The European way as a re-launch of the EU, but it was all Representative of the Slovak Presidency Gianni Pittella MEP (S&D, Italy) of life was under threat, he claimed, still status quo, Kamall argued. of the Ivan Korcok thanked Juncker for the clarity in his and he called for its defence inside a noted the unprecedented challenges speech and for avoiding the word broad European umbrella. Calls for more Europe would only that stood before the EU. ‘austerity’ in his remarks. The S&D’s further alienate citizens and integration support would be dependent upon Likewise, Europe’s identity and its was ultimately responsible for national- The Slovak Presidency intended to Juncker’s ability to deliver on his com- rootedness in Christian history should ism, he said. bring tangible results to EU policy and mitments, Pittella said. stop European fragementation, he said, be defended, he said. A true Europe meant solidarity of the wealthy and the Jobs should be at the centre of the Pres- and he called attention to the upcoming He added that the apocalyptic remarks poor, of more successful nations and ident’s SOTEU, he claimed, and he stat- informal Council summit in Bratislava, about the EU in the wake of Brexit those who struggle. ed that in the next European treaties, which would be “an overdue beginning had been proven false, and he sharply the EU should be reimagined within of a reflective process on the EU”, he criticised the political strategies of both Exports were the key to delivering jobs, the flexibility of a network rather than said. British Prime Minister Theresa May Weber argued, which meant that the the solidity of a bloc. He likewise criti- and German Finance Minister Wolf- EU should rally behind a free trade cised the unfair application of EU rules A successful European defence union gang Schaeuble. required equal participation between deal with Canada. He likewise called to different Member States. for an end to excessive indebtedness in- Member States, he added, and he reaf- He also called for an end to the EU’s side the EU and to political in-fighting, firmed the Slovak Presidency’s com- sanctions and penalties for its own ALDE which he termed “cheap populism”. mitment to stronger inter-institutional members, emphasized the need for agreements in the EU. Europe to support its citizens, and en- Guy Verhofstadt MEP (ALDE, Bel- Then, he pointed to the voting records dorsed the work of Federica Mogherini gium) rebuked Kamall’s claims that Eu- of nations like France, the Czech Re- towards a common European foreign ropean federalists were responsible for Reactions from EP Groups public, , and Italy in the Europe- policy. nationalism inside the EU. However, he an Council. noted that older generations had ceased EPP to believe in European solutions to their All of these nations had only once vot- ECR political problems, which now included MEP (EPP, Germa- ed against any motion in the Council, terrorism, tax evasion, international ny) noted the overwhelming desire and yet they hypocritically used Brus- Syed Kamall MEP (ECR, UK) first crime, and migratory flows. of young Europeans to preserve and sels as a punching bag in a domestic called attention to the choice of British strengthen the European project. political arena, he noted. He called citizens to leave the EU, and he noted Altogether, nationalists in Europe Over 250,000 European youths had upon national leaders to start being that the voices of discontent stretched preached a false sense of security, Ver- come together this summer in solidar- accountable for their choices in Brussels far beyond the English Channel. hofstadt concluded. He asked, how- ity, he noted, and he applauded the and concluded his speech. ever, how the supranational nature of welcoming attitudes of the younger His group was deeply worried that world affairs, ranging from terrorism to generations. “Project Europe has been set to cruise climate change to world finance, could control and its drivers are unwilling to

DeHavilland EU be stopped by borders and walls. his words. However, Member States were respon- EFDD He added that this imbalance of local sible for “rolling out the red carpet to The peoples of Europe wanted to re- politics and global problems were the nationalism”, she argued. The Europe- Nigel Farage MEP (EFDD, UK) first discover their independence and their dynamic ultimately responsible for the an Union needed to be made increas- sarcastically congratulated former liberty, she claimed, and she took issue 2008 financial crisis. Altogether, Euro- ingly democratic, Zimmer argued. President of the European Commis- with Manfred Weber MEP’s claim that pean solutions were needed inside the She criticized the domination of the sion José Manuel Barroso on his new European youth were rallying behind scope of national democracy, he said. European Council and lobbyists in EU appointment at Goldman Sachs, and the European project. decision-making and called for concrete he suggested the firm may be ready to He then endorsed all progress to be solutions. welcome President Juncker with open “Brexit had ended a taboo in Europe”, made on a European Defence Union. arms once his tenure concludes. Le Pen claimed. Now that the apocalyp- “Americans should not be the ones Greens/EFA tic visions of the collateral from an EU taking responsibility in our neighbour- It was clear that no lessons had been exit had been proven wrong, the door learned from Brexit, Farage argued. hood”, he said, and he then invoked the MEP (Greens/EFA, for pragmatic exits from the EU stood spectre of a Donald Trump presidency. And given the adamant proposals wide open, she said. ) called for EU citizens to col- made toward a European army, he lectively defend their values better. Then, he argued in support of stronger expressed his doubts about the sup- Without national borders, the EU had governance structures inside the Euro- posedly peaceful aims of the European permitted terrorism, Islamism, and She noted that there were increased project. zone as outlined in the Five Presidents’ calls for competences in Brussels, but rampant crime, she argued. She noted Report of 2015. He also called for a that it was finally time to let the nations she said this would take some time to Opposition would only continue to common European policy on migration be feasible. Trust needed to be regained liberate themselves, to let them coop- and asylum as soon as possible. grow across Europe, Farage claimed. erate among themselves, and to let the not only for the EU, Harms claimed, Then, he criticised the appointment of but also for the existence of open, plu- peoples of Europe determine their own Guy Verhofstadt MEP as the European destiny. GUE/NGL ralistic, and liberal societies. Parliament’s head negotiator in Brexit talks and called him an EU nationalist. Diane Dodds MEP (NI, UK) claimed Gabi Zimmer MEP (GUE/NGL, She added her hopes for the continued “You will inevitably drive us to no deal, Germany) began and insisted that EU ceasefire in Syria and Africa and called it was time to build a mutually benefi- leaving the UK and the EU to trade on cial relationship between the UK and institutions must immediately be pro- for continued solidarity in the EU in WTO terms” Farage said. He called for foundly cleaned and reformed. “The support of those who suffered from the EU. The trade links between the a new negotiator in the Brexit talks and two parties were too strong to simply house of Europe must be made liveable violent misfortune. concluded his speech. for everyone”, she said. part ways, she said, and she called attention to the particular challenges However, if EU citizens increasingly ENF Europeans had lost faith in the Europe- felt as if “banks were being saved, Brexit posed for the people of Northern an project, and if the EU didn’t change while hospitals and schools were rot- Ireland. Marine Le Pen MEP (ENF, France) its perspective, in its push for integra- ting”, this kind of solidarity would be called President Juncker’s speech “an tion “the snake will eat its own tail”, difficult to find, she concluded. An EU frontier dividing Ireland and elegy for the European Union” and she claimed. Northern Ireland presented challenges, added that there was no new content in

DeHavilland EU but she noted her pride to stand with tiations and suggested that “Europe à MEP (NI, Germany) toss aside his platitudes. She accused her fellow British countrymen. She also la carte” could be the right cure for the discussed the hypocrisy of the Irish the Commission of hypocrisy for letting called attention to the Common Travel EU’s illnesses. government in its refusal of Apple’s Germany and France sidestep the EU’s Area shared between the EU and UK owed tax revenues. “Take the money fiscal rules, while Portugal endured before the latter had joined the Union. João Ferreira MEP (GUE/NGL, Portu- and run. You can buy many iPhones “the most severe austerity inside the gal) criticized the gargantuan influ- with them. Consider it over some whis- Union”. Other MEPs ence of the European Council on EU ky”, he concluded. decision-making. People simply want Peter Lundgren MEP (EFDD, Sweden) MEP (EPP, Germany) more jobs and good wages, yet they Janusz Lewandowski MEP (EPP, noted that everyday citizens had lost noted that the European Parliament were “constantly under threat” in the Poland) said there was no reason to their confidence in the EU. Sweden had must take strong positions against pop- EU, he said. hold much optimism, given how much always been neutral on military mat- ulism and not merely follow the “flow anxiety and fear plagued the EU. He ters, he noted, which made the Com- of popular emotions”. He further criticised the sanctions lev- expressed approval for the aims of the mission’s support for a European army ied on Portugal and said “it was time Bratislava summit but noted that EU quite worrying, he said. Maria Joao Rodrigues MEP (S&D, to do away with the Union of Juncker, policy could devolve towards “the low- Portugal)said that the Commission Barroso, and Goldman Sachs, which est common denominator”. Harald Vilimsky MEP (ENF, Austria) needed to present a better road map will do nothing for workers”. called for a return to the fundamental with European solutions to the Union’s Sergei Stanishev MEP (S&D, Bulgar- concepts of sovereignty and subsidi- serious shortcomings. Laura Ferrara MEP (EFDD, Italy) crit- ia) called for the EU to take a more arity in EU governance. He also gave icized the lack of balance in European proactive position for the welfare of its his support for the positioning of the “All European citizens should be able policymaking towards technocrats, citizens. He also insisted that EU policy Hungarian and Polish governments vis to depend on an equal level of living elites, and big banks, and she pointed begin to focus on youth, which could à vis the Brussels institutions. standards”, she argued, and she noted to the long-term negative impacts of invigorate faith in the EU, he said. that the EU should become a medium austerity politics inside the EU. “We Alain Lamassoure MEP (EPP, France) for social convergence. shall continue to say no to this path”, Roberts Zīle MEP (ECR, Latvia) said expressed his support for the first foun- she said. that little substantial discussion had dations of a European defence federa- MEP (ECR, Germany) been had on the content of the Sta- tion and noted that “military means are criticized President Juncker as “old, Matteo Salvini MEP (ENF, Italy) noted bility and Growth Pact, and he noted only tools at the service of a pre-defined tired, and worn out.” He stood for a that everyday people were well aware that capital markets would need to be foreign policy”. failing EU, she argued, and she called of the risks of Islamic terrorism, which moved out of London well before a attention to the massive economic crisis “the EU finances with every boat that Brexit had been finalised. More than 25 years after the Cold War, that continued to plague southern comes to Europe”. it was shameful that the EU was unable Europe. He also asked for further clarification to speak in a single voice to Russia, he He criticized the EU-Turkey deal and on the relation of the European Defence said. She also agreed that Guy Verhofstadt the euro, which he called “a criminal Union to NATO and Russia. MEP was not the right choice as the currency”. He also called attention to a Esteban González Pons MEP (EPP, Parliament’s pointguard in Brexit nego- rising wave of populist awakening in Marisa Matias MEP (GUE/NGL, Por- Spain) noted the many tragedies Eu- Europe. tugal) called upon President Juncker to

DeHavilland EU rope had suffered in the past year, from What was most need in Europe were the attacks in Brussels to organized investments that boost this “transition crime’s entrance into the refugee crisis. economy”, she said. She said that solidarity between Mem- ber States “was clearly not working”, József Szájer MEP (EPP, Hungary) but she said that the institutions could welcomed the Commission’s new em- count on her for support. phasis on internal security. Hungary’s treatment of migrants was completely Tanja Fajon MEP (S&D, Slovakia) criti- “inhuman”, he said, but he noted that cised the aura of mistrust that currently illegal immigration was proving a surrounded the European institutions, terrible problem for the entire continent but she said that institutions should not and called for more “rational decision” be too hesitant in further progress on on migration. security and defence. Isabelle Thomas MEP (S&D, France) Lorenzo Cesa MEP (EPP, Italy) called reminded the Parliament that European for stronger border controls and for a citizens were waiting for swift action. coherent European foreign policy, and he noted the high levels of youth unem- The EU needed an amended budget Image courtesy of David Iliff ployment in certain areas of the EU. He for 2017, she said, and any support Richard Corbett MEP (S&D, UK) noted also asked if the bail-in rules for banks for initiatives on defence or security Josef Weidenholzer MEP (S&D, Aus- that if Brexit were done too hastily, it had properly protected and helped all must only be agreed with new appro- tria) called attention to the challenges would be an inevitable disaster for both citizens. priations for future investments, she for European politicians to overcome sides. concluded. in the next year. He noted his support Kathleen Van Brempt MEP (S&D, the Commission’s announced initiatives Everyday, new legal hurdles appeared Belgium) said that the European Parlia- MEP (EPP, Portugal) for digitalisation while calling attention that the Leave campaign had never ment should be in “a collective depres- asked the Commission for clarity on to “the right standards” for any data mentioned, he said, and he argued that sion” in the wake of Brexit, but she Spain and Portugal’s exclusion from EU protection package. the “British government still has no noted that it was their duty to provide structural funding after their fines for clue as to what it want to do”. He con- specific answers to the problems before failing to meet budget targets in 2015. MEP (EPP, Austria) cluded that Brexit was hardly a settled them. sought to convey the very real sense question and that more uncertainty “They should not be sanctioned”, he of urgency inside European politics. lingered on the horizon. She said that the S&D group was said, and he noted that only the Por- He said that too many politicians were committed to the fight against social tuguese state was at fault, but “not its working against each other, instead of MEP (S&D, Germany) dumping, and she said President Junck- people and not its companies”. Punitive coming together for a common cause. criticized the President’s speech for a er should pay more attention to the action would only increase populism A common migration policy was also lack of coherence and requested that he shape of the new, modern economy. and erode the foundations of European necessary for the EU, he stated. share his vision of a ‘bold Europe’ with integration.

DeHavilland EU the Parliament. He called for greater corporate. She noted her disappoint- costs of housing refugees, he said. He interest in Brexit, but in destroying the flexibility in the application of the ment in his tenure as President of the called for the return of sovereignty to European project, Verhofstadt argued. Stability and Growth Pact, including Commission. “You promised copyright Member States and for the EU to expel He said it was “ridiculous” for Europe- distinctions if a country was successful- reform that would tear down borders, all migrants. an politicians to be attacked for wanting ly fighting unemployment. but you’ve barely touched differences a European defence union and cited US in copyright laws. Now, you are telling Nigel Farage MEP (EFDD, UK) noted President Barack Obama’s support for Iratxe García Pérez MEP (S&D, Spain) us publishers should be paid for hyper- the EU’s volte-face on a European army the project. admonished the EU for its loss of links in the articles. It will be harder for in the wake of the Brexit referendum, direction in the past decade. However, European technology to compete in this particularly on the subject of parallel Syed Kamall MEP (ECR, UK) felt that solutions were possible through com- atmosphere”, she said. command structures. “Once the EU has the European Parliament could not be mon, cooperative approaches, she said, its own independent military force, the blamed for nationalism, but he coun- and she said that EU politicians should President of the European Commission argument to use it begins to grow”, he tered that if the Parliament “continued make more demands for a fiscal pillar. Jean-Claude Juncker expressed his predicted. to ignore citizens rather than make “We don’t want the European dream to thanks to the Parliament for the fruitful jobs”, voters would be driven into the disappear”, she concluded. debate. There was considerable agree- Rebecca Harms MEP (Greens/EFA, hands of populists. It was time to do ment between the groups of this house, Germany) noted the democratic obliga- away with “the same old mantras”, he Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar MEP he said, for which was very grateful. He tions the EU had to countries like Tur- concluded. (S&D, Spain) said there was no worse clarified that the EU remained in inten- key and Ukraine. A successful future sign of deterioration in the EU than sive diplomatic relations with Turkey, in Europe was only possible through Gianni Pittella MEP (S&D, Italy) Brexit and then criticized the gap but he noted that Turkey remained far collective action, she said, and ultimate- accused nationalists of misleading the between the Commission’s words and away from meeting the EU’s require- ly, she concluded, a better future was people of Europe with their “lies”, deeds. ments for visa liberalisation. only possible in Europe. and he called for the European capital markets union to have an additional Vicky Ford MEP (ECR, UK) called at- He expressed his pleasure that there Gabi Zimmer MEP (GUE/NGL, Ger- political component. tention to the many British citizens who was broad support for “a strong, social many) noted that public support for had stood in solidarity against the re- Europe” and he said the Commission the EU could grow with a stronger Manfred Weber MEP (EPP, Germa- cent hate crimes in the country, and she would soon submit its proposals on common policy and asked the Com- ny) expressed his belief in the fruitful noted the general wish for a calm and new basic pillars for the European mission’s further clarification on future cooperation of the European Parliament peaceful negotiation in the UK. A good Union. PNR agreements with third countries. and the European Commission in the deal for both sides would take time, she coming year. However, he noted the said. She also endorsed Commissioner Marcel de Graaff MEP (ENF, Neth- Guy Verhofstadt MEP (ALDE, Bel- many roadblocks ahead for the EU, for the position of erlands) accused the Commission for gium) described Nigel Farage MEP’s from the north-south divide to immi- United Nations Secretary General. exposing European citizens to the comments on his nationalism as the gration.He called for the Council to dangers of terror, Islam, and refugees ramblings “of an alcoholic who’s angry step up to the plate and deliver results. MEP (Greens, Germany) with no respect for European culture. that another person is drinking in a He also recalled the landmark levels of criticized President Juncker’s State “Millions of Europeans have been pub”. support for the EU inside Germany in of the Union as both analogue and shoved into unemployment”, he noted, the months after the Brexit vote. and it was unfair for them to pay the Nationalists and populists had no

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