Tag: Speeches

The speech made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 18 November 2022.

Thank you Dr Chipman, dear John

Your Royal Highness,

Your Highnesses,

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to thank the IISS for its continued leadership in convening a regional dialogue. It is a pleasure to be back at the Manama Dialogue. And it is so good to see that Bahrain continues to be a driving force for dialogue between countries and cultures. Since my last visit four years ago, Bahrain’s achievements have been remarkable. In difficult times for the world, you have been a voice of wisdom and a voice for engagement.

I have come to Bahrain, I have come to the Gulf, directly from the G20 Summit in Bali. This was the first G20 Summit since Russia invaded Ukraine. And of course, the Summit was dominated by the spillover effects of this atrocious war. Take food security, the Russian blockade of Ukraine’s ports, the deliberate bombing of grain silos and the disruption of Ukraine’s agriculture is having a devastating effect on global food security. Therefore, we welcome yesterday’s prolongation of the Black Sea grain deal for 120 days. However, given the uncertainties, we have to boost even more our alternative routes. That is why Europe just invested an additional billion euros into linking Ukraine’s granaries to our ports by rail, road and rivers. These solidarity lanes have – since the start of the war – taken more than 60% of Ukrainian food exports to the rest of the world. That is more than 17 million tonnes altogether.

The second big topic was energy security. In energy, no one knows better than you in the Gulf that it is all about trust and reliability. For many years, you have supplied energy to the world to support its economic and social development. This has been transformative for many lives and livelihoods. We are in the middle of a difficult and turbulent period in history. Tectonic shifts in the energy landscape are happening right now. Before the war started, Europe was Russia’s biggest energy customer. Today, not even nine months later, this has changed fundamentally. Russia has unilaterally and deliberately cut 80% of its pipeline gas to Europe. But Europe has managed to replace most of it with gas from reliable suppliers. Our storages are full at 95% – and we are safe for this winter. Our challenge will be next year’s winter. At the same time, for emerging and developing countries, the energy crunch is happening right now. They are facing skyrocketing energy expenditures, soaring inflation, and the energy crisis is rapidly leading into an unsustainable debt crisis. Therefore, the world is looking to the key energy suppliers to ensure that these countries that rely on imported fuels and are vulnerable are substituted at reasonable prices.

So much for the immediate crisis. But the tectonic shifts are running deeper. It is climate change that is the pacemaker. Desertification is rapidly swallowing fertile land, devastating floods covered one-third of Pakistan this summer, forest fires raged across Europe, even in Belgium and the UK. There is a reason why the largest economies in the world – the G20 – reaffirmed the Paris climate goals. The clean energy transformation will take place. And the winners will be those who invest now and massively in clean tech and infrastructure. Europe is massively investing into home-grown renewable energy. This is the European Green Deal – our fundamental growth strategy. But in addition, we will also continue to rely on energy imports. Many of the countries in this region have the natural resources for clean energy in abundance – wind, sun, etcetera – and have the know-how on existing and emerging technologies, such as carbon capture and storage. This change is creating opportunities for today’s major exporters to provide the fuels and energy services of tomorrow; to diversify into low-emission fuels such as hydrogen; to show leadership in areas such as CCUS; and as a result of these changes, to diversify also their broader economies and to provide a sustainable basis for long-term growth.

Of course, what is behind these crises in food security and energy security is Russia’s war. Let me give you a European perspective on what is happening on European soil and the global implications. Almost nine months ago, Russian tanks rolled across an internationally recognised border with the declared objective to bring down a legitimate government and establish rule from Moscow. But Russia’s efforts have backfired spectacularly. It has proven to be a colossal strategic mistake.

First of all, the people of Ukraine have fought bravely, with grit and determination, to defend their own freedom; to reaffirm their independence and their right to determine their own future. If Putin was aiming to wipe Ukraine off the map, he achieved the exact opposite: The Nation of Ukraine stands today stronger than ever. Second, if Putin wanted to divide Europe and its partners and allies, he failed yet again. Sweden and Finland will join NATO. Denmark has removed its defence opt-out. And Ukraine is now a candidate to join the European Union. Thirdly, this war is weakening Russia’s economic perspective for decades to come. Our technology sanctions are crippling Russia’s economy for the future. And its industry is in tatters.

From an energy point of view, Russia has lost its biggest customer. Europe is ending its dependency on Russian fossil fuels – for good. From a military point of view, the Russian army has shown its weaknesses and appears overstretched. Its military industrial complex is lacking chips and spare parts to fix their hardware. The equipment Russia is throwing at the frontline is getting older and older. The conscripts, who arrive with it, are barely trained and younger and younger. And from a diplomatic point of view, Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions has been roundly rejected as a sham around the world. It was condemned by 143 countries in the UN General Assembly, including by the overwhelming majority of the Gulf, the Middle East and North Africa. In sum, Putin has achieved a weaker Russia domestically and abroad.

The European Union is united and steadfast in its support to Ukraine. From the very beginning, we have provided a strategic answer. With massive and tailored sanctions; with broad humanitarian aid; with substantial financial support of over EUR 20 billion; and, for the first time ever, the European Union directly financed military assistance of over EUR 3.1 billion.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My last point is about the international order and how to defend it. There is one recent development that I find very telling. Last January, exactly one month before Russia attacked Ukraine, civilians in Abu Dhabi came under fire of Iran-made Shahed-136 UAVs launched from Yemen. Just a few days ago, the oil tanker ‘Pacific Zircon’ was attacked off the coast of Oman by the very same Iranian drones. And now in Europe too, Russia has launched these very same Iranian drones, time and again, against civilian targets in Ukraine’s cities. These are blatant breaches of humanitarian law and qualify as war crimes. Several Gulf countries have been warning for years about the risk that Iran feeds rogue nations around the world with drones. It took us too long to understand a very simple fact that while we work to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, we must also focus on other forms of weapons proliferation, from drones to ballistic missiles. It is a security risk, not just for the Middle East but for us all.

This is why the European Union has already sanctioned Iranian individuals and entities linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – that are responsible for providing drones to Russia. And we are coordinating with partners and allies to take further sanctions against Iran responding to the proliferation of Iranian drones. By teaming up, Iran and Russia are undermining the basic rules and principles of our global order. And where does this end, if left unchallenged? History shows that this is a recipe for perpetual war. It is a recipe for arms races and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It is a recipe for constant foreign interference, for never-ending violence and instability. And we simply cannot accept this. And we will not accept this.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world needs a stronger security architecture, against the spread of chaos. We know this in Europe and it matters also here in the Gulf. Europe is willing to do its part. We want to strengthen our engagement with the region – both economically but also in terms of security. We want closer cooperation on maritime security – for instance to ensure safe shipping lanes. And I am also convinced that we should work on a coordinated approach to Iran – with a broader focus than nuclear. Gulf security matters to Europe, as Europe’s security matters to the Gulf. Therefore, we will appoint a Special Representative to the Gulf. Let us join forces for our collective security.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I believe we face a historic opportunity to build new ties between our regions. For our mutual benefit. For today and for the long run. Thank you very much for hosting me, and I look forward to our discussion.

The speech made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 15 November 2022.

Dear President Widodo, colleagues, the G20 is a critical forum to address global issues.

We must end this war.

Russia’s war is not only unjustified, unprovoked and illegal, it is causing immense suffering in Ukraine and damage to the global economy.

Like many around this table, the EU condemns this war.

And the G20 must now work together to address the severe global consequences of the war.

Let me address two points:

First, the food crisis.

The EU is doing its utmost to alleviate the situation:

Just to set the record again straight. There are no sanctions on agri food products and fertilisers.

We support full-heartedly the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the Secretary General Guterres and President Erdoğan. It needs to be extended.

In addition, in the European Union, we set up alternative transport routes to bring agri-food products out of Ukraine, which we call Solidarity Lanes. Since May, more than 15 million tonnes have been exported through these routes and we are further increasing their capacity.

And we are stepping up our global food security aid by another 210 million euros, thus we are mobilising up to 8 billion euros over the next 3 years for food assistance and to increase local food production.

On fertilisers, that of course include ammonia, we facilitate access and movement of fertilisers and we provide financial support. In addition, we are working with the African-Caribbean Pacific countries on innovation to develop the next generation of fertilisers.

Second, the energy crisis.

With regard to energy, Russia’s war was an eye-opener to the European Union. We see literally, that Russia – instead of selling gas – prefers to flare gas.

This tightens the global energy market and leads to skyrocketing prices.

We therefore support the introduction of an oil price cap. This will also strongly benefit the low- and middle- income countries

Our best response to this is to speed up the green transition towards clean energy. Clean energy is the only answer to both the energy crisis and the climate crises.

And there are huge global opportunities in this, too. In the next five alone Europe will invest at least 4 billion euros in renewable energy, like hydrogen, through our Global Gateway investment strategy. And this will unleash massive private investment as well.

This all shows how relevant the G20 is in addressing these global issues.

We are of course grateful to the Indonesian leaderships and I am looking forward to the upcoming Presidency of India.

The speech made by Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, on 15 November 2022.

Thank you very much President Biden, President Widodo,

Throughout this day, we have discussed that we live in a truly volatile global economy with obviously a changing climate. And in addition, we see that Russia’s war is rubbing salt in the wound of economic recovery from COVID-19. So this mixture made us completely re-evaluate our energy, our trade and our security relationships. What is the situation for the European Union? We have decided to completely diversify away from the Russian fossil fuels. We have understood and learnt our lesson that it was an unhealthy and unsustainable dependency and we want reliable and forward-looking connections. This is why we launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment – PGII. We are joining forces to give our partners a powerful and a positive offer. Dear Joe, you have said that the world needs a positive investment boost. This is what it is all about. To help build the global infrastructure that we all need for sustainable growth. So invest in renewable energy, in transport corridors, in digital connections that people can trust. On the European side, the contribution is the so-called Global Gateway. It is our EUR-300-billion investment programme for abroad for the next five years combined with the wish to harness the power and the knowledge of the private sector. And we are deeply convinced that this will be a game changer for two reasons.

First of all, Global Gateway or PGII are not just investing massively in state-of-the-art infrastructure but they are also investing in the local capacities of our partners. This is crucial. We want to strengthen our shared resilience. In the last session, we have been discussing the vaccine manufacturing example. What is special about it? If we take the example from the European Union, there is a European-American company that is sharing its mRNA technology and training local professionals. So it is about skills. Then we have African and European financial institutions that are providing the investment. And we have our regulatory medicines agencies that are sharing their know-how. No single actor in this combination could have done this alone. But together, we are really able to deliver on the ground.

And my second point is that the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment is working because it is demand-driven. We see an enormously rising demand for renewable energy, and this is a good example. As I said, Europe has decided to completely diversify away from the Russian fossil fuels and we want to leapfrog to clean energy. We need this clean energy. Not only to have it home-grown but also to import it. Our partners in the Global South have an abundance of clean energy potential and resources. So Europe could turn into the world’s largest market for their energy exports. What is necessary is investment and infrastructure. That is where we have to team up. So here are some example: At COP27, we have signed hydrogen partnerships with Namibia, Egypt and Kazakhstan. With Namibia, we are building transport corridors from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic port of Walvis Bay.

And there is much more to be done. I am very happy that today we launched the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Indonesia – a big step forward. The European Union will contribute over EUR 1 billion. It is the roadmap for the country’s low-carbon future. And we are investing in developing geothermal energy. Or we are engaged in talks with India on renewable hydrogen; with Chile on critical raw materials. Or we are launching a digital alliance in Latin America to build fibre-optic cables and satellite connectivity. Many of these examples show exactly the direction of travel and the shared interest that we do have. So we are ready to contribute. If we align our investment strategies and crowd in the private sector –that is crucial –, I think we can maximise our joint impact. Let us bundle our forces and make a positive difference in investment globally.

I now have the pleasure to invite Heads of State to deliver their remarks. And I hand over the floor to Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida. Fumio, you have the floor.