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Addressing today the Charlemagne Prize Forum in Aachen, President Klaus Iohannis began by requesting a moment of silence for the victims of the fire that hit the Constanta Infectious Diseases Hospital this morning.
He went on by saying that "It is clear to all of us that we are at a turning point for the European Union. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a crisis that has gripped not just Europe but the entire world. More than other difficult moments we had to face over the past decade, such as the 2008 financial and economic crisis, the pandemic has forced us to look for quick solutions. Despite some initial hesitation, they were put into practice in a very short time. Together, within the EU, we managed to take the fastest action in order to return to a social life as close to normal as possible. Now it is extremely important to revert to normalcy, while at the same integrating the lessons learned from this crisis."
Iohannis then highlighted the merits of EU cooperation and joint action, of European unity and solidarity in finding the right answers, like for instance in duly repatriating EU citizens at the beginning of the pandemic and creating a reserve of medical supplies.
"Together we decided on joint action to support the recovery of the European economy and prepare social and economic resilience. The most important lesson is precisely this one - of the indisputable added value of European unity and solidarity. Fair access to vaccines, the adoption of the Next Generation EU economic recovery package and of the European Green Deal are evidence of our joint action at European level, reflecting the added value of European action and the rationale for the European project ever since its launch," Iohanis said, remarking that the pandemic has also revealed some weaknesses, such as the lack of European production capacities that should provide greater security in the health and pharmaceutical sectors.
"We need to strengthen the Union's internal market. The so-called green corridors that have been set up have proven to be absolutely necessary for maintaining the flow of goods and services. We need to rethink our foreign partnerships so as to consolidate our relationships with those states and organizations that share our values and goals, as well as with our neighborhood partners. We need to invest in the EU's internal and external resilience in order to be better prepared for unforeseeable or destabilizing events inside or in our neighborhood. We need to pay particular attention to the new challenges such as cybersecurity and the EU's autonomy in key economic sectors. In addition, we need to limit the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that we can achieve climate neutrality by 2050," the President said.
He continued by pointing out the areas of EU future action he considers of paramount importance: the European Recovery Plan, which provides the necessary instruments for enhancing the EU's resilience, for preparing the digital and the green transition, as well as for alleviating the social shock of the pandemic; the combat of climate change, seen as an imperative at European level, as European economies must redirect towards a sustainable approach, and relevant international actors must be persuaded to take emission-cutting measures for all the efforts to have a tangible global impact; the move to digitization, which must be pushed ahead, along with improving the citizens' digital skills and cybersecurity.
Iohannis also called for a better coordination between member states and the recently established institutional actors, such as the EU Cybersecurity Competence Center - the first EU institution that will be based in Romania, in Bucharest - in order to give substance to an efficient European cybersecurity ecosystem.
President Iohannis concluded by saying that as we face unprecedented challenges - whether we are talking about the pandemic, the effects of the digital transformation, or the rising number of natural disasters, we must learn from the mistakes of the past in order to create a better future, and voiced his confidence that within the European Union, the member states will have the strength to secure this future.
