In a debate in the Strasbourg hemicycle on the results of last week's extraordinary European Council in Brussels, dedicated to competitiveness, Ursula von der Leyen pointed out that since the last European elections in 2019, the EU has faced the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, "with an energy crisis 'made in Russia'", which "could have turned into a dramatic economic and social crisis", with many predicting in 2020 "mass unemployment in Europe and a long recession".

"But that did not happen, and this was due to Europe's great resilience, but also to the fact that we have implemented the right policies. Such as the [programme] SURE, which saved 40 million European jobs, or 'NextGenerationEU' and 'REPowerEU', which accelerated the recovery and the deployment of renewable energies of domestic origin", she argued, listing some of the major initiatives undertaken during the crises.

Pointing out that, contrary to what many anticipated, today there are even "more people working than at any other time in European history", the President of the European Commission noted that "unemployment has reached its lowest level ever, at less than 6%, the employment rate is the highest ever, at over 75%, and inflation is now close to the 2% target".

"We have gone through an extremely difficult situation, but in many ways we have come out stronger than five years ago", argued Ursula Von der Leyen, who is running for re-election as the lead candidate ('spitzenkadidat') of the largest European political family, the European People's Party (EPP).

Von der Leyen pointed out, however, that "the shockwaves of these crises have affected Europe's competitiveness", not least because "the business model of many European industries was based on supposedly cheap energy from Russia and trade with a growing China", and that Europe is currently dealing with "a rogue Russia and a China with difficulties in domestic demand".

For this reason, she continued, "regaining the competitive advantage" of the EU "must be at the heart of Europe's economic agenda in 2024 and beyond", which is why last week's European Council was important, during which the 27 discussed the European single market.

"I am absolutely convinced that, with the necessary impetus, we can start a new wave of European competitiveness [...] The last five years have taught us something: we have repeatedly surprised the sceptics and defied the pessimists. Because for a strong Europe, if there is a will, there is a way. And our continent will continue to be the beating heart of industry and innovation worldwide", she concluded.

The European Parliament is holding the closing plenary session of the current legislature in the French city of Strasbourg, and will only meet again in July, after the European elections in June that will define the next institutional cycle.

In this final session of the 2019-2024 legislature, which runs until Thursday, MEPs have an extremely busy agenda, in order to try to 'close' as many dossiers as possible, and are expected to vote on 89 legislative texts -- a record for a single session, according to the assembly, surpassing the 76 of the previous closing session (2019) -- and seven resolutions, in addition to several debates in the hemicycle.

The next session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg will take place in approximately three months, between 16 and 19 July, and will be the constituent session of the 2024-2029 legislature, based on the results of the European elections scheduled for the period between 06 and 09 June in the 27 Member States.

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