The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, today gave her first State of the Union address at the European Parliament. The speech addressed the current situation in the EU and set the agenda for the coming years.
For good reason, the speech took an outset in the current COVID-19 crises. However, Ursula von der Leyen also pointed out that crises often lead to opportunities to approach issues in a different and possibly better fashion. The Commission President gave the examples of the climate effort and digitalization, two areas where the European effort must be improved.
Focusing on the reduction of CO2 emissions
In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen identified an ambition for the EU to reduce its CO2 emissions in Europe by 55 % towards 2030. This is an improvement compared to earlier targets of both 40 and 50 %, but still lower than the Danish ambition of a reduction of 70 %.
- The Commission President identified this as an ambitious target for Europe, but hope to witness the EU getting closer to the Danish target of 70 % reduction, states CEO of Insurance & Pension Denmark, Kent Damsgaard.
- The Danish Insurance & Pension industry has made a commitment to invest 46 billion Euro in the green transition towards 2030. Out commitment to support the green agenda is highly prioritized in the entire industry, says Kent Damsgaard. He adds that the industry will follow the Green Bond agenda with great interest.
The digital decade
In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen also identified the coming years towards 2030 as the digital decade. The Commission has already established a string focus on digitalization and in her speech, von der Leyen identified an ambition of increased use of artificial intelligence and free flow of data, while at the same time keeping the main focus on people rather algorithms. As Ursula von der Leyen pointed out, personal data belongs to private individuals.
- We see great perspectives in the Commission’s focus on creating a real data economy in what the President refers to as “Europe’s digital decade”. The Danish insurance and pension industry is at the forefront of the digitalization agenda and sees industrial data as an important resource with great potential. However, if we are to utilize this potential, it is important that the EU delivers on its promises and creates the necessary regulation regarding use of data, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, says Kent Damsgaard.
- Our industry plays an important role in the welfare state and digitalization helps create opportunities for better service and products. The industry therefor has a great desire to be part of the process that secures clear and responsible regulation in order to unleash the potential in “Europe’s digital decade”, says Kent Damsgaard.
