Europe has become “the worlds beating heart of solidarity” in the coronavirus crisis that will likely redefine “our politics, our geopolitics and possibly globalization itself,” European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said on Thursday.
Speaking from the European Parliament, where MEPs are holding their second semi-virtual plenary since the start of the pandemic, von der Leyen acknowledged that “no one was really ready” for the outbreak, and “many werent there when Italy needed a helping hand,” referring to the country that was at the start of the crisis the most hard-hit in Europe.
“But it is also true that Europe has become the worlds beating heart of solidarity,” von der Leyen added, citing examples from across Europe, including “paramedics from Poland and doctors from Romania” saving lives in Italy. “The true Europe is standing up,” she said.
MEPs are set to vote today on — among other measures — a €3 billion emergency support package for the health sectors of EU countries most hit by the crisis. They will also vote on a nonbinding resolution proposing that the EU have “greater powers” to act on cross-border health threats and put in place recovery bonds guaranteed by its long-term budget.
Von der Leyen said that with the package of emergency measures MEPs will vote today, “we are now reaching the limits of what we can do.”
“Europe has had economic crisis before,” she added. “But weve never have an economic shutdown like this. Nobody is to blame and everybody will need support … Europe has done more in the last four weeks than it did in the first four years in the last crisis.”
She ended her speech reiterating that the EUs next long-term budget, the so-called MultiannuRead More – Source
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