“This is our responsibility: to end the pandemic and to shape a new beginning for Europe. Europe is able to overcome crises and to deliver for the future of its citizens. And this is what I would like to talk about today on the basis of two exemplary topics. The pandemic and climate change.

Yes, we all heard the nagging questions, especially in the first months of this pandemic: Are nation states not better equipped to fight this crisis? Is our Union of 27 not too slow to react? Are our processes not too cumbersome, and our stakeholders too diverse?”

The answer to all of the above is “yes”. The UK was able to act independently as a nation state and look how much better we did, compared to the EU.

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org - click to enlarge

“Today, I am here to say: Europe has proven these claims wrong. Europe has demonstrated that a union of democracies can deliver in times of crisis. For its own citizens. And for the rest of the world.

Under huge pressure, we Europeans stood by our values. And on top of this, we demonstrated that, even in times of a global pandemic, we are able to tackle forcefully other great challenges of our time.”

Firstly, Frau von der Leyen, stop using ‘Europe’ when you mean ‘the European Union’. Europe is a region containing over 50 countries, not just the 27 in the EU. Secondly, to claim that you ‘delivered in a time of crisis’ is pure fantasy. In modern parlance? Fake news.

“Let us have a closer look at it: The European Union was not designed to deal with health issues or fight a pandemic.”

If that’s the case, why did you and your EU Commission insist on taking over the vaccine programme completely? This was a cynical power grab in an effort to use the pandemic to extend the powers of Brussels. If you were ‘not designed’ to deal with the crisis, why did you insist on taking it away from member countries and dealing with it?

“I remember very vividly the early days of the pandemic. And I remember the call for Europe coming from Italy. The people of Italy demanded that Europe stepped in. They demanded European solidarity and coordination. And they were right. Italy was right. Europe had to step in. And that is what we did.”

No, Frau von der Leyen, the EU (‘Europe’ in your warped vocabulary) did not step in. Here was our summary at the time:

“Some Romanian doctors are going to Italy, and Austria is sending some disinfectant. Much more help from non-EU Norway, though.”

- Brexit Facts4EU.Org, 09 Apr 2020

The EU even tried to claim that the assistance of non-EU Norwegian doctors and medical staff was part of the EU effort.

“Some Member States had introduced export bans on medical equipment. Some Member States had closed their borders. We, Europe, restored the free movement of goods in our Single Market. We made sure that the bans were lifted and medical equipment could get to where it was needed. And, most importantly, we decided to procure vaccines together in our Union.

This was the right decision, even if there were doubts, especially at the beginning of this year. I do not even want to imagine what it would have meant if some large Member States had secured their vaccines, while the rest, all the small and medium-sized Member States, went empty-handed. Just think of the consequences for our Internal Market, for our European unity. Indeed, I am convinced that economically, it would have made no sense whatsoever with such a deeply integrated Single Market. And politically, it would have torn our Union apart.”

Oh dear. You sacrificed human lives for the sake of your precious Single Market and ‘your Union’? This is nothing more than you putting your ideology above the importance of people’s health.

“Today, the enormous gains delivered by our unity are obvious for everybody. It is clear that our European vaccination campaign is a success. Because what counts is neither the blaring headlines in certain countries abroad, nor the social media stunts of so-called vaccine diplomacy.”

Are you seriously claiming that your ‘European’ (by which you mean EU) vaccination strategy has been a success? This is delusion on a grand scale. If this isn’t ‘fake news, we don’t know what is. The simple fact is that your ‘vaccination strategy’ has been nothing short of a disaster, and the fault lies with you and your EU Commission.

Facts4EU.Org has shown in many reports over many months, just how poorly you have performed compared to the independent United Kingdom. And ‘blaring newspaper headlines’ have not only appeared ‘in certain countries abroad’, but also in many EU countries too, as you well know.

“What counts is the steadily increasing, daily delivery of vaccines to our people – and to the world. Let me give you some figures.

So far, about 200 million doses of vaccines have been distributed inside the European Union – 200 million. These are enough vaccines to vaccinate more than half of Europe's adult population at least once. Neither China nor Russia come even close. … Today, we are vaccinating more than three million Europeans per day. And the progress in Europe is gaining speed by the day.”

This is nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention away from the monumental mess you have made of things to date. This has had real life consequences, as FactEU.Org has shown when analysing death rates in the EU compared to the UK. Your citizens continue to die at a rate 15 times that of UK citizens.

© Brexit Facts4EU.Org - click to enlarge

“Some might say: countries like the U.S. and the United Kingdom have been faster at the beginning. But I say: Europe achieved this success while remaining open to the world. While others keep their vaccine production for themselves, Europe is the main exporter of vaccines worldwide. So far, more than 200 million doses of vaccines produced in Europe have been shipped to the rest of the world. Europe exports as much vaccines as it delivers to its own citizens. And to be clear, Europe is the only democratic region in the world that exports vaccines on a large scale.”

So, your globalist ideology prevented you from looking after EU27 citizens first? Is that what you are saying, Frau von der Leyen? Perhaps you would like to explain this philosophy to the elderly and vulnerable across the EU who have yet to be offered a vaccination?

… Exports from Europe go to more than 90 countries, COVAX included. Shipments go to our close allies like Canada and the UK. Our dear British friends have received a total of 28 million doses from the continent so far. Even 72 million doses have been shipped to Japan. And also many millions to our friends in Singapore, in Mexico or Columbia – just to name a few. Europe is nowadays the pharmacy of the world. Openness and fairness are Europe's trademark in the world. And we do take pride in this.

The UK signed contracts and approved vaccines well ahead of the EU. Experienced UK personnel even travelled to production plants in the EU to teach them how to do things as well as they were being done in the UK. Unfortunately some plants still struggled to perform, but British experts made the effort.

… And of course, this is also true when planning ahead for the future. Because we already must prepare now for the next stage of this pandemic. We have seen that to fight a pandemic successfully preparedness and speed are key.

You mean that speed was not key for you in the last 12 months?

This is why I am happy to tell you that we are close to signing a new contract with BioNTech-Pfizer. It will deliver 1.8 billion doses of vaccines between year end and 2023. And other contracts will follow. This shows clearly that our investments are paying off, that from early on, we invested in a promising but completely new technology – the mRNA – and in the ingenuity of scientists like Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci.

Yes, two (non-EU) Turkish scientists based in Germany played a major role in the Pfizer vaccine development.

… And the whole world needs to be ahead of the curve, too. This is also why I have proposed holding a G20 Global Health Summit. I will co-host it with Prime Minister Draghi in Rome later this month.

Let’s see if we have got this right. The sclerotic EU which has failed so badly considers itself the right party to host an international summit? Nop doubt this will represent for you another opportunity to pretend the EU has somehow been a world leader.

… This crisis exposed our fragility. The fragility of our health. The fragility of our livelihoods. But today, we emerge from this fragility with a new found purpose.

… We are reshaping our continent for decades ahead. Because while fighting this pandemic, our Union has started to do something it has never done before on this scale.

With the strong backing of 27 Member States, the European Commission is raising capital on the international markets. This empowers our Union to invest billions in a badly needed joint recovery and in our common priorities: investments and reforms. The plan is called NextGenerationEU. It is worth EUR 750 billion. It is the largest recovery package in Europe since the Marshall Plan. And it can trigger a European Renaissance.

The priorities of NextGenerationEU are set in stone: The resilience of our Single Market, digitalisation and the European Green Deal. Because climate change is the crisis that will stay with us once the pandemic is defeated. I do not have to tell you about desertification and droughts. Extreme weather situations and floods. The loss of biodiversity and dying forests. Yes, we have a daunting task ahead of us. Climate change is happening. Science is clear. People in Europe are already suffering because of climate change.

Yes, Frau von der Leyen, people in the EU are suffering, but not from climate change. Right now you want to talk about your ‘Green Deal’, as if that is more important than people’s health.

… With our European Green Deal, we are determined to become the first climate neutral continent in 2050. I have just experienced, at the international climate conference on Earth Day, how powerful our message is. With its climate ambition, Europe is clearly leading the way.

… In addition, we will present a long series of legislative proposals before the summer in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

Er… the UK is way ahead of you on this one too. Many people are concerned that this green agenda will have massive negative consequences for people’s lives, but if you are tring to claim supremacy in this area – as you do in almost every area – you should check your facts.

… This is the most important lesson that I hope we can learn from this crisis. It is a lesson about Europe. We care for the weakest among us. We care for our neighbours. We care for our planet. And we care for future generations.

That is why we will be officially launching the Conference on the Future of Europe, on Sunday, on Europe Day.

… Viva l'Europa.