ECR Group Co-Chair Nicola Procaccini has called on the Commission to get its priorities right following Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address.

Procaccini called for the shift towards a tougher approach on illegal migration to be completed, warned against treating decarbonisation as the overriding objective of European policy and, above all, urged Europe to secure access to the critical raw materials on which its economy, energy transition and defence depend. He also expressed surprise at von der Leyen’s proposal for a closer association with Canada, noting that such an arrangement with the United Kingdom would have been the more natural first step.

On illegal migration, Procaccini welcomed the change of direction but stressed that the work is not yet finished: “But at last, we are moving in the right direction. The job still needs to be finished”, he said.

Questioning von der Leyen’s proposal for closer association with Canada, he argued that the United Kingdom should be the more obvious European partner. He said: “One step at a time. Frankly, I found no other good news in your speech. The bow to the Canadian Prime Minister, whom I welcome, was frankly embarrassing. Is it possible that Britain does not take precedence as an associate member?”

On climate policy, Procaccini warned against continuing to make decarbonisation the overriding priority when Europe accounts for only a small share of global emissions and its industrial competitiveness is under growing pressure, saying:

“Once again, I heard this obsession with decarbonisation. There is nothing wrong with being concerned about it, let us be clear, but it cannot be the absolute priority of the European agenda.”

Above all, Procaccini argued that Europe must urgently address its strategic dependence on third countries for the raw materials essential to both the energy transition and its military capabilities.

He said:

“The main problem we should address today is not CO2, but the shortage of critical raw materials. Without them, there can be no green or energy transition, nor can there be effective military defence and deterrence.

“Worst of all, lithium, polysilicon, nickel, silver, rare earths and all the other critical raw materials we desperately need have to be bought from the very regimes against which we should be defending ourselves, militarily and economically. Let us deal with this first, and then with everything else.”

Procaccini’s speech reads in full:

Thank you, President. For the first time, I will not focus my remarks on the fight against illegal migration. Unfortunately, we will have to live with the consequences of past policies for a long time. But at last, we are moving in the right direction. The job still needs to be finished. There are still steps to take to achieve proper management of migration, as the peoples of Europe expect.

I agree with President von der Leyen’s remarks about excessive European regulation. I might also have expected a word of self-criticism on this point. But never mind. One step at a time. Frankly, I found no other good news in your speech. The bow to the Canadian Prime Minister, whom I welcome, was frankly embarrassing. Is it possible that Britain does not take precedence as an associate member? I believe Europe should bow to no one, not even the United States, and certainly not China.

Once again, I heard this obsession with decarbonisation. There is nothing wrong with being concerned about it, let us be clear, but it cannot be the absolute priority of the European agenda. President von der Leyen, allow me to remind you that the entire European Union now accounts for only 5 per cent of global CO2 emissions. Despite this, global emissions continue to rise year after year.

Since 1990, we have reduced emissions by 36 per cent, while global emissions have risen by 68 per cent. Is it possible that these figures, provided by the EU’s EDGAR platform, do not make you question the unrestrained and solitary race towards decarbonisation embarked upon by the Union? With the Green Deal, we are battering the European economy, and we risk no longer having even the financial resources needed to adapt our countries to climate change. Above all, we are making ourselves strategically dependent on the most illiberal and polluting regimes on the planet.

I conclude. The main problem we should address today is not CO2, but the shortage of critical raw materials. Without them, there can be no green or energy transition, nor can there be effective military defence and deterrence. Worst of all, lithium, polysilicon, nickel, silver, rare earths and all the other critical raw materials we desperately need have to be bought from the very regimes against which we should be defending ourselves, militarily and economically. Let us deal with this first, and then with everything else.