WIREDGOV

Statement given recently (15 January 2021) by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Costa on the occasion of the College visit to the Portuguese Presidency.

Thank you so much dear António,

It is so good to be here and thank you very much for your hospitality, for the friendship, for the excellent cooperation. We have already a very strong working relationship and it is wonderful to have friends and experts at the same time in the Presidency. Because these are really challenging times and the Portuguese Presidency could not come at a more decisive time for Europe, indeed.

Europe is going through very difficult times. In many Member States, we know that the situation is very serious what the COVID-19 pandemic is concerned. Following the holiday break, we see that cases are spiking. And we see that new variants of the virus have been found in several dozen countries. And restrictions, which are absolutely necessary, are definitely taking a hard toll on people. It is imperative that we continue our efforts to keep safe, to protect ourselves and to protect others. But it is hard. We are all in this here together and we really have to overcome this pandemic together. The European Union will support the Member States, in all possible ways.

Over the next months, we will need to focus on major priorities. And of course one of the first priorities is vaccination. Vaccination is the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic, at this difficult situation. The European Commission has been working tirelessly to secure enough doses of the most promising vaccines. And indeed with the two first vaccines on the market – that is BioNTech and Moderna – we have access to enough doses of vaccine to vaccinate over 80% of the European population. At the beginning of this week, AstraZeneca, the third vaccine company, has applied to the European Medicines Agency to get its vaccine approved. And this would be, with the third vaccine that is authorised for Europe, a situation where, with all these three vaccines, we would have one billion doses of vaccine available.

Now for us is important that we manage now the situation of the delivery of the vaccines. And I got, like many of you, the news today that Pfizer announced delays. I immediately called the CEO of Pfizer and he explained that there is a production delay in the next weeks. But he reassured me that all guaranteed doses of the first quarter will be delivered in the first quarter. He is personally on the case on reducing the delay period and to make sure that they will catch up as soon as possible. That was very important to convey the message to him that we urgently need the guaranteed doses within the first quarter.

Besides that, we have to remain vigilant and we are not out of the woods at all yet, although having the vaccines. Because the new variants we discovered recently are concerning as they increase the speed of the spread of the virus. And therefore, we urgently need to increase our sequencing capacities in the European Union. This is the only possibility to not only detect variants of the virus, but to react swiftly to them.

A second priority, of course, is, as you mentioned, the economic recovery. And I call on all Member States to swiftly ratify the much needed recovery package NextGenerationEU. Here I know that I can count on the leadership of the Portuguese Presidency. And we will work very closely with the Member States to finalise their national recovery and resilience plans. Our aim is that the money from NextGenerationEU starts flowing to our people and to our companies that definitely need it now, before the end of the Portuguese Presidency. It is very encouraging to know that we have with Portugal a strong partner at our side to make this happen.

And I also want to thank you, António, for expressing your support for three central priorities of this Commission. As you have just said, it is the European Green Deal, it is the Digital Decade in Europe that we are beginning. But as crucial as these two priorities, is the social dimension of the recovery. Europe is about people. Europe is about the workers and the small businesses. It is about opportunities for young people to find employment, the young generation that needs perspectives. It is about solidarity in times of crisis. And therefore, I very much welcome the plans of the Portuguese Presidency and their commitment to strengthening our European social market economy. The Social Summit in Porto in May will send a very strong signal: The European Union stands for a recovery that indeed leaves no one behind. And I very much welcome that this Social Summit includes civil society, includes our social partners, it is together with them that we will make sure that the social market economy is as lively and as vibrant, as it has been before the crisis, also after the crisis.

Finally, throughout its history, Portugal has given – if I may quote – ‘new worlds to the world', this is a quote from the famous poet Luís de Camões. And we, dear António, share the same goal of a stronger Europe in the world. This will be a crucial period, this Portuguese Presidency, to revive the transatlantic partnership – you mentioned it –, to further develop our relationship with Africa, and indeed to deepen our ties with India. I very much look forward to the EU-India Summit that will take place in Porto in May. Global Europe will benefit a lot from the Portuguese Presidency.

Last but not least, dear António, your experience, your dedication will be invaluable in this coming period. And I wish the Portuguese Presidency great success and I am very much looking forward to the common cooperation in this Presidency.

Thank you.

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