The Secretary of State for European Affairs considered this Wednesday that the European Union (EU) is under attack, in a allusion to the sabotage of the Nordstream I and II pipelinesand praised the performance of the President of the Commission.
This position was conveyed by Tiago Antunes at the opening of the parliamentary debate on the “state of the Union”.
“The European Union is under attack, as the act of sabotage of the Nordstream I and Nordstream II pipelines demonstrates. In addition to the attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the European Union itself is the direct target, by those who have no qualms about converting energy, such as food, and escalating prices in general, into weapons that seek reach our way of life”, he declared, referring to Russia’s performance in terms of its foreign policy and the country’s military intervention in Ukraine.
To Tiago Antunes, the recent speech by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, on the State of the Union, was so right, in placing the war of aggression against Ukraine at the center of European concerns”.
“And by identifying the responses of the European Union as a priority to face the consequences of this war, whether in terms of energy or support for the economy and citizens, or in terms of democracy and respect for the rule of law”, added the Secretary of State for European Affairs.
According to the Secretary of State for European Affairs, the Portuguese Government noted “with satisfaction” that both the speech by the President of the European Commission and the Commission’s Letter of Intent meet many of its priorities.
In terms of energy, and in addition to the short-term responses that are currently being discussed, we would like to highlight, from the outset, the commitment to green hydrogen, with the creation of a Hydrogen Bank, budgeted at three billion euros. Together with the announcement of a structural reform of the internal electricity market, this initiative is perfectly in line with the options that Portugal has adopted in this field”, he maintained.
Tiago Antunes also considered that it confirmed “the Commission’s concern to provide the European Union with greater autonomy in the face of external crises, that is, with an impact on the demand for critical raw materials”.
“The announcement of the legislative act on essential raw materials and the European Sovereignty Fund – which we follow with great interest – will bring greater security to European value chains and strengthen our industry,” he added.
Source: Observadora
