Life in Europe is getting pricier and its borders, in Jordan Bardella’s telling, less secure. Responding to Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address, the Patriots for Europe leader demanded lower regulation, tighter migration control, and stronger support for European industry.
Jordan Bardella (PfE/FRA) presented the EU as divided between “two Europes”: officials who create regulations and taxes, and citizens who must pay the resulting bills.
“That essentially is the state of the Union,” he said, pointing to fuel, heating and other living costs. He warned that the EU’s forthcoming second Emissions Trading System (ETS2) would place further pressure on lower- and middle-income households, particularly people who depend on cars to reach work.
“Your Europe isn’t just more expensive every year. It also protects us less and less,” Mr Bardella told Ms von der Leyen.
Migration and industrial policy
Mr Bardella described the arrival of migrants in Ceuta as a “sovereignty crisis”. He demanded stronger border controls and the return of people entering the EU illegally rather than their relocation between member states.
Your Europe isn’t just more expensive every year. It also protects us less and less. — Jordan Bardella, Patriots for Europe president
He also accused Europe of regulating and taxing industries that it no longer possessed. The United States and China invested in their economies, he argued. Meanwhile, Europe continued creating rules that weakened its own production.
Mr Bardella called for “Buy European” requirements in public procurement. “When the money is European, the jobs need to be in Europe,” he said. He also demanded investment in technology, space, defence and nuclear energy. Mr Bardella concluded that Brussels should stop asking citizens to adapt to its vision of Europe. “The time has come to change things and give power back to the people,” he said.
