Thank you, Mrs President,

Honourable Members,

I think many are the people

who feel their lives have been on pause

while the world has been on fast forward.

The speed of the events

and the enormity of the challenges

are sometimes very difficult to grasp.

This has also been a time of soul-searching.

People are re-evaluating their own lives.

We are having wider debates on shared vaccines and shared values.

But as I look back on this past year,

and if I look at the state of the Union today,

I see a strong soul in everything that we do.

It was Robert Schuman who said:

Europe needs a soul,

an ideal, and the political will to serve this ideal.

And Europe has brought those words to life in the last twelve months.

In the biggest global health crisis for a century,

we chose to go it together

so that every part of Europe had access to the life-saving vaccines.

In the deepest global economic crisis for decades,

we chose to go it together

with NextGenerationEU.

And in the gravest planetary crisis of all time,

again we chose to go it together

with the European Green Deal.

We did that together as Commission,

and I thank from the bottom of my heart my outstanding College of Commissioners

for the enormous support during that time,

we did it together as Parliament with 27 Member States,

as one Europe, and I think we can be proud of it.

But corona times are not over.

There is still much grief in our society as the pandemic lingers.

There are hearts we can never mend,

life stories we can never finish,

and time we can never give back to our young.

We face new and enduring challenges in a world recovering – and fracturing – unevenly.

So there is no question:

the next year will be another test of character.

But I believe it is when you are tested

that your spirit – your soul – truly shines through.

And as I look across our Union,

I know that Europe will pass the test.

And what gives me that confidence

is the inspiration we can draw from Europe's young people.

Because our youth put meaning

into empathy and solidarity.

They believe we have a responsibility towards the planet.

And while they are anxious about the future,

they are determined to make it better.

Our Union will be stronger

if it is more like our next generation:

reflective, determined and caring.

Grounded in values and bold in action.

This spirit will be more important than ever over the next twelve months.

This is the message in the Letter of Intent

I sent this morning to President Sassoli and Prime Minister Janša

to outline our priorities for the year ahead.

Honourable Members,

A year is a long time in a pandemic.

When I stood here in front of you twelve months ago,

I did not know when – or even if – we could have a safe and effective

vaccine against COVID-19.

But today, against all critics,

Europe is among the world leaders.

More than 70% of our adult population is fully vaccinated.

We were the only ones to share

half of our vaccine production with the rest of the world.

We delivered more than 700 million doses of vaccines to the Europeans.

We delivered...

Indeed, we delivered also more than 700 million

to the rest of the world, to more than 130 countries,

We are the only region in the world to achieve that.

Honourable Members,

A pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint.

We followed the science. We delivered to Europe.

We delivered to the rest of the world.

We did it the right way because we did it the European way.

And I think it worked!

But while we have every reason to be confident,

we have no reason to be complacent.

Our first – and most urgent – priority is to speed up global vaccination.

With less than 1% of global doses administered in low-income countries,

the scale of injustice and the level of urgency are obvious.

This is one of the great geopolitical issues of our time.

Team Europe is investing one billion Euro

to ramp up mRNA production capacity in Africa.

We have already committed to share 250 million doses of vaccine.

I can announce today

that the Commission will add a new donation

of another 200 million doses until the middle of next year.

This is an investment in solidarity

and it is an investment also in global health.

The second priority is to continue our efforts here in Europe.

We see worrisome divergences

between Member States where vaccination rates are concerned.

So we need to keep up the momentum.

And Europe is ready.

We have 1.8 billion additional doses secured.

This is enough for us and our neighbourhood when booster shots are needed.

So let us do everything possible

that this does not turn into a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

And my third point:

the final priority is to strengthen our pandemic preparedness.

Last year, I said it was time to build a European Health Union.

Today we are delivering.

With our proposal, we get the HERA authority up and running.

This will be a huge asset to deal with future health threats earlier and better.

We have the innovation and scientific capacity,

we have the private sector knowledge, we have competent national authorities.

And now we have to bring all that together, including massive funding.

So I am proposing a new health preparedness and resilience mission

for the whole of the European Union.

And it should be backed up by Team Europe investment of EUR 50 billion by 2027.

To make sure that no virus will ever turn a local epidemic again in a global pandemic.

There is no better return on investment than that.

Honourable Members,

The work on the European Health Union is a big step forward.

And I want to thank this House for your support.

We have shown that when we act together, we are able to act fast.

Take the EU Digital Certificate:

today, more than 400 million certificates

have been generated across Europe.

42 countries in four different continents are plugged in.

We proposed it in March. You pushed hard!

You helped enormously!

Three months later, it was up and running.

So while the rest of the world was talking about it,

Europe just did it.

And we did a lot of things right.

We moved fast to create SURE.

This supported over 31 million workers

and 2.5 million companies across Europe.

We learned the lessons from the past

when we were too divided and too delayed.

And the difference is stark:

last time it took us eight years

for the Eurozone GDP to get back to pre-crisis level.

This time we expect 19 countries

to be at pre-pandemic levels this year, with the rest following next.

Growth in the euro area outpaced

both the US and China in the last quarter.

But this is only the beginning.

And the lessons from the financial crisis could serve as a cautionary tale.

At that time, Europe declared victory too soon

and we paid the price for that.

and we will not repeat that mistake.

The good news is that with NextGenerationEU

we will invest in both short-term recovery and long-term prosperity.

We will address structural issues in our economy:

from labour market reforms in Spain to pension reforms in Slovenia

or to tax reforms in Austria, for example.

In an unprecedented manner,

we will invest in 5G and fibre.

But equally important is the investment in digital skills.

This is such an important topic.

This task needs leaders' attention and a structured dialogue at top level.

We really have to emphasise that and put a strong focus on it.

Our response provides a clear direction to markets and investors alike.

But, as we look ahead, we also need to reflect on how

the crisis has affected the shape of our economy –

from increased debts to uneven impact on different sectors,

or new ways of working.

And to do that, the Commission will relaunch the discussion

on the economic governance review in the coming weeks.

The aim is to build a consensus on the way forward well ahead of 2023.

Honourable Members,

We will soon celebrate 30 years of the Single Market.

For 30 years, it has been the great enabler of progress

and prosperity in Europe.

At the outset of the pandemic, we had to defend it

against the pressures of erosion and fragmentation.

For our recovery, the Single Market is the driver

of good jobs and competitiveness.

And that is particularly important in the digital single market.

We have made ambitious proposals in the last year,

for example, to contain the gatekeeper power of major platforms;

To underpin the democratic responsibilities of those platforms,

To foster innovation, to channel the power of artificial intelligence.

Digital is the make-or-break issue.

And Member States also share that view.

For example, if we look at the digital spending in NextGenerationEU

and you know we have a 20% target.

We will even overshoot that 20% target.

That is good!

That reflects the importance of investing in our European tech sovereignty.

But allow me to focus on semi-conductors for a moment,

these tiny chips that make everything work:

from smartphones to electric scooters,

from trains to entire smart factories.

There is no digital without those chips.

And while we speak, whole production lines are already working at reduced speed -

despite growing demand - because of a shortage of semi-conductors.

And while global demand has exploded,

Europe's share across the entire value chain

from design to manufacturing capacities has shrunk.

We depend right now on state-of-the-art chips manufactured in Asia.

So this is not just a matter of our competitiveness.

This is also a matter of tech sovereignty.

So let us put all our forces in it to improve the situation.

We will present a new European Chips Act.

We need to link together

our world-class research design and testing capacities.

We need to coordinate the European level

and the national investment along the value chain.

And the aim is to jointly create a state-of-the-art

European chip ecosystem, including production.

That ensures our security of supply

and will develop new markets for ground-breaking European tech.

And yes, I know this is a daunting task without any questions,

a big, big goal that I put out there.

And I know there are some now that claim it cannot be done.

But they said the same thing 20 years ago about Galileo.

And now look where we are!

We got our act together.

Today Europe's satellites provide the navigation system

for more than 2 billion smartphones worldwide.

So we did it once, we are world leaders in Galileo now.

Let's be bold again, and let's focus all our forces

on the semi-conductors, and let's go and be a world leader again.

This should be our aim.

Honourable Members,

The pandemic has left deep scars

that have also left their mark on our social market economy.

For nights on end, we all stood at our windows

and doors to applaud critical workers.

We felt how much we relied on all those women and men

who work for lower wages, fewer protections and less security.

The applause may have faded away

but the strength of feeling cannot.

This is why the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights

is so important

to ensure decent jobs, fairer working conditions,

better healthcare

and better balance in people's lives.

If the pandemic taught us one thing,

it is that time is precious.

And caring for someone you love

is the most precious time of all.

We will come forward with a new European Care Strategy

to support men and women in finding the best care

and the best life balance for them.

But social fairness is not just a question of time.

It is also a question of fair taxation.

In our social market economy, it is good for companies to make profits.

And they make profits thanks to the quality of our infrastructure,

social security and education systems.

So the very least we can expect is that they pay their fair share.

This is why we will continue to crack down on tax avoidance and evasion.

We will put forward a new initiative

to address those hiding profits behind shell entities.

And we will do everything in our power to seal

the historic global deal on minimum taxation.

Asking big companies to pay the right amount of tax

is not only a question of public finances,

but above all a question of basic fairness.

Honourable Members,

We have all benefited from the principles

of our European social market economy -

and we must make sure that the next generation

can do so to build their future.

This is our most educated,

talented and motivated generation.

And it has missed out on so much to keep others safe.

Being young is normally a time of discovery,

of creating new experiences.

A time to meet lifelong friends,

to find your own path.

And what did we ask this generation to do?

To keep their social distance,

to stay locked down

and to do school from home.

For more than a year.

This is why everything that we do

- from the European Green Deal to NextGenerationEU -

is about protecting their future.

That is also why NextGenerationEU must be funded

by the new own resources that we are working on.

But we must also caution

against creating new divides.

Because Europe needs all of its youth.

We must step up our support to those who fall into the gaps –

those not in any kind of employment, education or training.

For them, we will put in place a new programme, ALMA.

ALMA will help these young Europeans

to find temporary work experience in another Member State.

Because they too deserve an experience like Erasmus.

To gain skills, to create bonds

and help forge their own European identity.

But if we are to shape our Union in their mould

young people must be able to shape Europe's future.

Our Union needs a soul and a vision they can connect to.

Or as Jacques Delors asked:

How can we ever build Europe if young people

do not see it as a collective project

and a vision of their own future?

This is why we will propose to make 2022

the Year of European Youth.

A year dedicated to empowering those

who have dedicated so much to others.

And it is why we will make sure that young people

can help lead the debate in the Conference on the Future of Europe.

This is their future

and this must be their Conference too.

And as we said when we took office,

the Commission will be ready to follow up

on what is agreed by the Conference.

Honourable Members,

This is a generation with a conscience.

They are pushing us to go further and faster

to tackle the climate crisis.

And the events of the summer

only served to explain why.

We saw floods in Belgium and Germany

and wildfires burning from the Greek islands to the hills in France.

And if we do not believe our own eyes,

we only have to follow the science.

The United Nations recently published an IPCC report,

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

It is the authority on the science of climate change.

The report leaves no doubt.

Climate change is only man-made.

But since it is man-made, we can do something about it.

As I heard it said: it is warming,

It is us. We are sure. It is bad, but we can fix it.

And change is already happening.

More electric vehicles than diesel cars

were registered in Germany in the first half of this year.

Poland is now the EU's largest exporter

of batteries and electric buses.

Or take the New European Bauhaus

that led to an explosion of creativity

of architects, designers, engineers across our Union.

And if the European Green Deal has a soul,

then it is the New European Bauhaus.

So clearly, something is on the move.

And this is what the European Green Deal is all about.

In my speech last year, I announced our target

of at least 55% emission reduction by 2030.

Since then we have together turned our climate goals into legal obligations,

and we are the first major economy

to present comprehensive legislation in order to get it done.

You have seen the complexity of the detail.

But the goal is simple.

We will put a price on pollution.

We will clean the energy we use.

We will have smarter cars and cleaner airplanes.

And we will make sure that higher climate ambition

comes with more social ambition.

Because this must be a fair green transition.

And this is why we proposed the new Social Climate Fund

to tackle the energy poverty

that already 34 million Europeans suffer from.

So I count on both Parliament and Member States to keep the package

and to keep the ambition together.

When it comes to climate change and the nature crisis,

Europe can do a lot. And it will support others.

I am proud to announce today

that the European Union will double its external funding for biodiversity

in particular for the most vulnerable countries.

But Europe cannot do it alone.

The COP26 in Glasgow will be a moment of truth for the global community.

Major economies – from the US to Japan –

have set ambitions for climate neutrality in 2050 or shortly after.

That is good.

But they need now to be backed up

by concrete plans in time for Glasgow.

Because current commitments for 2030

will not keep global warming at 1.5°C within reach.

Every country has a responsibility.

The goals that President Xi has set out for China are encouraging.

But we call for that same leadership on setting out how China will get there.

The world would be relieved if they showed they could peak emissions by mid-decade

and move away from coal at home and abroad.

But while every country has a responsibility,

major economies like us do have a special duty

to the least developed and the most vulnerable countries.

So-called climate finance is essential for them –

both for mitigation and adaptation.

In Mexico and in Paris,

the major economies committed to provide 100 billion dollars a year until 2025

to the least developed and most vulnerable countries.

We deliver on our commitments.

Team Europe contributes 25 billion dollars a year.

But others still leave a gaping hole towards reaching the global target.

So closing that gap will increase the chance of success in Glasgow.

My message today is that Europe is ready to do more.

We will now propose an additional 4 billion euro

for climate finance until 2027.

But we expect the United States and our partners to step up too.

This is vital because closing the climate finance gap together –

the US and the European Union – would be such a strong signal

for global climate leadership. And it is time to deliver now.

We have no time to wait anymore.

Honourable Members,

This climate and economic leadership

is central to Europe's global and security objectives.

It also reflects a wider shift in world affairs

at a time of transition towards a new international order.

We are entering a new era of hyper-competitiveness.

An era in which some stop at nothing to gain influence:

from vaccine promises to high-interest loans, from missiles to misinformation.

to high interest loans from missiles to misinformation.

An era of regional rivalries and major powers

refocusing their attention towards each other.

Recent events in Afghanistan are not the cause of this change,

but they are a symptom of it.

And first and foremost, I want to be clear.

We stand by the Afghan people.

We stand by the Afghan people,

the women and children, prosecutors, journalists and human rights defenders.

I think in particular of women judges

who are now in hiding from the men they jailed.

They have been put at risk for their contribution to justice

and the rule of law.

We must support them and we will coordinate all efforts

with Member States to bring them to safety.

And we must continue supporting all Afghans

in the country and in neighbouring countries.

We must do everything to avert the real risk

that is out there of a major famine and humanitarian disaster.

And we will do our part.

We will increase again humanitarian aid for Afghanistan by 100 million euro.

This will be part of a new,

wider Afghan Support Package

that we will present in the next weeks to combine all our efforts.

Honourable Members,

Witnessing events unfold in Afghanistan was profoundly painful

for the families and friends of fallen servicemen and servicewomen.

We bow to the sacrifice

of those soldiers, diplomats and aid workers

who laid down their lives for our common cause.

To make sure that their service will never be in vain,

we have to reflect on how this mission could end so abruptly.

They are deeply troubling questions that allies will have to tackle within NATO.

But there is simply no security and defence issue

where less cooperation is the answer.

So we need to invest in our joint partnership

and draw on each side's unique strength.

This is why we are working with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg

on a new EU-NATO Joint Declaration to be presented before the end of the year.

But this is only one part of the equation.

Europe can - and clearly should – be able

and willing to do more on its own.

But if we are to do more,

we first need to explain why.

I see three broad categories.

First, we need to provide stability

in our neighbourhood and across different regions.

We are connected to the world by narrow straits,

stormy seas and vast land borders.

And because of that geography,

Europe knows better than anyone else that if you do not deal in time

with a crisis abroad, this crisis will come to you.

Secondly, the nature of the threats we face is evolving rapidly:

from hybrid to cyber-attacks

to the growing arms race in space.

We see that disruptive technology has been the great equaliser

in the way power can be used today by rogue states and non-state groups.

You no longer need an army or missile to cause mass damage.

You can paralyse industrial plants, city administrations and hospitals –

all you need is your laptop.

You can disrupt entire elections with a smartphone

and an internet connection.

And the third reason is that our European Union is a unique security provider.

There will be missions where NATO or the United Nations will not be present,

but where Europe should be.

On the ground, our soldiers work side-by-side with police officers,

lawyers and doctors, with humanitarian workers

and human rights defenders, with teachers and engineers.

We can combine military and civilian

alongside with diplomatic and development.

And we have a long history in building and protecting peace.

The good news is that over the past years we have started to develop

a European defence ecosystem.

But what we need now is the European Defence Union.

In the last weeks,

there have been many discussions on expeditionary forces

on what type and how many we need: battlegroups and EU entry forces.

This is no doubt part of the debate –

and I think it will be part of the solution.

But the more fundamental issue is why this has not worked in the past.

You can have the most advanced forces in the world –

but if you are never prepared to use them – of what use are they?

What has held us back until now is not just a shortfall of capacity –

it is the lack of political will.

And if we develop this political will,

there is a lot that we can do at EU level.

Allow me to give you three concrete examples:

First, we need to build the foundation for collective decision-making,

and this is what I call situational awareness.

We fall short if Member States active in the same region,

do not share that information at the EU level.

It is vital that we improve intelligence cooperation.

But this is not just about intelligence in the narrow sense.

It is about bringing together the knowledge from all services and all sources.

From space to police trainers, from open source to development agencies

the European Union could have a unique scope and depth of knowledge.

It is out there, but we can only use that information

and make decisions if we have the full picture.

And this is currently not the case.

We have the knowledge, but it is disjoint.

We have the information, but it is fragmented.

And this is why the European Union could consider its own

Joint Situational Awareness Centre

to fuse all these different pieces of information.

And to be better prepared, to be fully informed and thus to be able to decide.

Secondly, we need to improve interoperability.

This is why we are already investing in common European platforms,

from fighter jets to drones and cyber.

But we have to keep thinking of new ways to use all the possible synergies.

One example could be to consider waiving VAT

when buying defence equipment developed and produced in Europe.

This would not only increase our interoperability,

but also decrease our dependencies of today.

Third, we cannot talk about defence without talking about cyber.

If everything is connected, everything can be hacked.

And given that resources are scarce, we have to bundle our forces.

We should not just be satisfied to address the cyber threat,

but also strive to become a leader in cyber security.

It should be here in Europe where cyber defence tools are developed.

And this is why we need a European Cyber Defence Policy,

including legislation on common standards under a new European Cyber Resilience Act.

So, we can do a lot at EU level.

But Member States need to do more too.

And this starts with a common assessment of the threats we face

and a common approach to dealing with them.

The upcoming Strategic Compass is the key process to this discussion.

And we need to decide how we can use

all of the possibilities that are already in the Treaty.

And this is why, under the French Presidency,

President Macron and I will convene a Summit on European defence.

Honourable Members, it is time for Europe to step up to the next level.

In a more contested world,

protecting our interests is not only about defending ourselves.

It is also about forging strong and reliable partnerships.

This is not a luxury –

it is essential for our future stability, security and prosperity.

And this work starts by deepening our partnership with our closest allies.

With the US we will develop our new agenda for global change –

from the new Trade and Technology Council to health security and sustainability.

The European Union and the United States will always be stronger – together.

And of course, the same goes for our neighbours in the Western Balkans.

Before the end of the month, I will travel to the region

to send a strong signal of our commitment to the accession process.

We owe it to all those young people

who believe in a future in Europe, and this is why we are ramping up

our support through our new investment and economic plan

worth around a third of the region's GDP.

Because an investment in the future of the Western Balkans

is an investment in the future of the European Union.

And we will also continue investing in our partnerships in our neighbourhood –

from stepping up our engagement in the Eastern Partnership

to implementing the new Agenda for the Mediterranean

and continuing to work on the different aspects

of our relationship with Turkey.

Honourable Members, if Europe is to become a more active global player,

it also needs to focus on the next generation of partnerships.

In this spirit, today's new EU - Indo-Pacific strategy is a milestone.

It reflects the growing importance of the region to our prosperity and our security

But it also reflects the fact that autocratic regimes use it to try to expand their influence.

Europe needs to be more active and to be more present in the region.

So we will work together to deepen trade links, strengthen global supply chains

and develop new investment projects on green and digital technologies.

This is a template for how Europe can redesign its model to connect the world.

We are pretty good at financing roads.

But it does not make any sense for Europe

if we build a perfect road between a Chinese-owned copper mine

and a Chinese-owned harbour.

So we have to get smarter when it comes to these kinds of investments.

And this is why we will soon present our new connectivity strategy

called Global Gateway.

We will build Global Gateway partnerships with countries around the world.

We want investment in quality infrastructure,

connecting people, goods and services around the world.

We will take a values-based approach

offering transparency and good governance to our partners.

We want to create links and not dependencies!

And we know that this can work.

Since the summer, a new underwater fibre optic cable has connected Brazil to Portugal.

We will invest with Africa to create a market for green hydrogen

that connects the two shores of the Mediterranean.

We need a Team Europe approach to make Global Gateway happen.

We will connect institutions and investment, banks and business community

and we will make this a priority for regional summits –

starting with the next EU-Africa Summit in February.

We want to turn Global Gateway

into a trusted brand around the world.

And let me be very clear about one more point:

doing business around the world is good.

Global trade around the world – that is good and necessary.

But this can never be done at the expense of people's dignity and freedom.

Today there are around 25 million people out there

who are threatened or coerced into forced labour.

We can never accept that they are forced to make products – and that these products

then end up for sale here in shops in Europe.

So we will propose a ban on products on our market that have been made by forced labour.

Because human rights are not for sale at any price.

And, Honourable Members, human beings are not bargaining chips.

Look at what happened at our borders with Belarus.

The regime in Minsk has instrumentalised human beings.

They have put people on planes and literally pushed them

towards Europe's border.

This can never be tolerated.

And the quick European reaction shows that.

And rest assured, we will continue to stand together with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

And let's call it what it is:

this is a hybrid attack to destabilise Europe.

We will never tolerate that!

These are not isolated events. We saw similar incidents at other borders.

And we can expect to see it again.

This is why, as part of our work on Schengen, we will set out new ways

to respond to such aggression and ensure unity in protecting our external borders.

But as long as we do not find

common ground on how to manage migration,

our opponents will continue to target this.

Meanwhile, human traffickers continue to exploit people

through deadly routes across the Mediterranean.

And these events show us that every country

has a stake in building a European migration system.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum gives us everything we need

to manage the different types of situations we face.

All the elements are there.

This is a balanced and humane system

that works for all Member States - in all circumstances.

We know that we can find common ground.

But in the year since the Commission presented the Pact,

progress has been painfully slow.

I think, this is the moment now for European migration management policy.

So I urge this House and the Member States to speed up the process.

This ultimately comes down to a question of trust.

Trust between Member States.

Trust for Europeans that migration can be managed.

Trust that Europe will always live up to its enduring duty

to the most vulerable and most in need.

I know that there are many strongly held views on migration in Europe.

But I believe the common ground is not so far away.

Because if you ask most Europeans,

they would agree that we should act to curb irregular migration.

But they would also agree that we have to act to provide

a refuge to those forced to flee.

They would agree that we should return those who have no right to stay,

but they would also agree that we should welcome those who come here legally

and make such a vital contribution to our society and our economies.

And we should all agree that

the topic of migration should never be used to divide us.

I am convinced that there is a way that Europe can build

trust amongst us when it comes to migration.

Honourable Members,

Societies that build on democracy and common values

stand on stable ground.

They have trust in people.

This is how new ideas are formed, how change happens,

how injustices are overcome.

Trust in these common values

brought our founders together, after World War Two.

And it is these same values that united the freedom fighters

who tore down the Iron Curtain

over 30 years ago.

They wanted democracy.

They wanted the freedom to choose their government.

They wanted the rule of law

and for everyone to be equal before the law.

They wanted freedom of speech and independent media.

To no longer be spied on by their governments.

They wanted to combat corruption.

And the freedom to be different from the majority.

Or, as former Czech President Václav Havel put it,

they wanted all those "great European values".

These values come from the cultural, religious and humanist

heritage of Europe.

They are part of our soul, part of what defines us today.

These values are now enshrined in our European treaties.

This is what we all signed up to

when we became part of this Union

as free and sovereign countries.

We are determined to defend these values.

And we will never waver in that determination.

Our values are guaranteed by our legal order

and safeguarded by

the judgments of the European Court of Justice.

These judgments are binding.

We make sure that they are respected.

And we do so in every Member State of our Union.

Because protecting the rule of law is not just a noble goal.

Protecting the rule of law is also hard work and a constant struggle for improvement.

Our Rule of Law reports are part of this process,

with for example justice reforms in Malta

or corruption inquiries in Slovakia.

And from 2022, our Rule of Law reports will come

with specific recommendations to Member States.

Nevertheless, there are worrying developments in certain Member States.

Let me be clear:

dialogue always comes first.

But dialogue is not an end in itself,

it should lead to results.

This is why we take a dual approach

of dialogue and decisive action.

This is what we did last week.

And this is what we will continue to do.

Because people must be able to rely on the right to an independent judiciary.

The right to be treated equally before the law.

Everywhere in Europe.

Whether you belong to a majority or a minority.

This is the soul of our Europe and we will have to defend it.

Honourable Members, The European budget

is the future of our Union cast in figures.

That is why it must be protected.

We need to ensure that every euro and every cent is spent

for its proper purpose and in line with rule of law principles.

Investments that enable our children to have a better future

must not be allowed to seep away into dark channels.

Corruption is not just taxpayer money stolen.

It is investors scared off,

big favours bought by big money

and democracy undermined by the powerful.

When it comes to protecting our budget,

we will pursue every case, with everything in our power.

We will start with that in brief.

Honourable Members,

Defending our values

is also defending freedom.

Freedom to be who you are,

freedom to say what is on your mind,

freedom to love whoever you want.

But freedom also means freedom from fear.

And during the pandemic,

too many women were deprived of that freedom.

It was an acutely terrifying time for those

with nowhere to hide,

nowhere to escape from their abusers.

We need to shed light on this darkness,

we need to show ways out of the pain.

Their abusers must be brought to justice.

And those women must have their freedom

and their self-determination back.

This is why by the end of year,

we will propose a law to combat violence against women –

from prevention to protection and effective prosecution,

online and offline.

It is about defending the dignity of each individual.

It is about justice.

Because this is the soul of Europe.

And we must make it even stronger.

Honourable Members,

Allow me to finish with

one of the freedoms that gives voice

to all other freedoms – media freedom.

Journalists are being targeted simply for doing their job.

Some have been threatened, some beaten

and, tragically, some murdered.

Right here, in our European Union.

Let me mention some of their names:

Daphné Caruana Galizia.

Ján Kuciak.

Peter de Vries.

The details of their stories may be different

but what they have in common

is that they all fought and died for our right to be informed.

Information is a public good

We must protect those who create transparency – the journalists.

That is why today we have put forward a recommendation

to give journalists better protection.

And we need to stop those who threaten media freedom.

Media companies cannot be treated as just another business.

Their independence is essential.

Europe needs a law that safeguards this independence –

and the Commission will deliver a Media Freedom Act in the next year.

Defending media freedom means defending our democracy.

Honourable Members,

Strengthening Schuman's European ideal that I invoked earlier is a continuous work.

And we should not hide away from our inconsistencies and imperfections.

But imperfect as we might be, our Union is both beautifully unique and uniquely beautiful.

It is a Union where we strengthen our individual liberty

through the strength of our community.

A Union shaped as much by our shared history and values

as by our different cultures and perspectives,

It is a Union with a soul.

Trying to find the right words to capture the essence of this feeling is not easy.

But it is easier when you borrow them

from someone who inspires you.

And this is why I have invited

a guest of honour to be with us today.

Many of you might know her –

a gold medallist from Italy

who captured my heart this summer.

But what you might not know is that only in April

she was told her life was in peril.

She went through surgery.

She fought back.

She recovered. And only 119 days after she left the hospital,

she won Paralympic gold.

Honourable Members, please join me in welcoming

Beatrice Vio.

Please stand up.

Bebe has overcome so much, so young.

Her story is one of rising against all odds.

Of succeeding thanks to talent,

tenacity and unrelenting positivity.

She is the image of her generation,

a leader and advocate for the causes she believes in.

And she has managed to achieve all of that by living up to her belief

that if it seems impossible, then it can be done.

Se sembra impossibile, allora si può fare.

And this was the spirit of our European founders,

and this is the spirit of Europe's next generation.

So let us be inspired by Bebé and by all of the young people

who change our perception of the possible

who show us that you can be what you want to be

and that you can achieve whatever you believe in.

Honourable Members, that is the soul of Europe.

That is the future of Europe.

Let us make it stronger. Viva l'Europa.