On September 14, following a video summit between the European Union and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Europe’s stance towards China has become increasingly assertive, with the President of the European Union’s Executive Council, Mr. Von der Leyen, delivering his annual State of the Union address on September 16, strongly urging European countries to condemn the human rights violations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and to propose an EU Magnitsky bill on human rights accountability. This is the most formal statement to date by EU leaders against human rights abusers.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her annual State of the Union address on 16 March, referred to China as a competitor and condemned human rights violations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, announcing that the EU will propose a European version of the Magnitsky Act to sanction human rights abusers.
Von der Leyen’s State of the Union address, titled “Building the World We Want to Live In: A Dynamic Alliance in a Fragile World,” presented a vision for the economy, climate change, and foreign policy in the wake of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic.
She said that the pandemic demonstrates the fragility of the global system and the importance of working together to collectively address challenges. In the face of the crisis, some countries have chosen to retreat into isolation, while others are destabilizing the global system, which is nearing paralysis.
Therefore, in terms of foreign policy, she mentioned the need for Europe to take a clear position and act quickly in global affairs. Referring to China, she said, “The Europe-China relationship is one of the most important and challenging relationships today.”
Von der Leyen said that from the outset she had said that China is a negotiating partner, an economic competitor and a systemic competitor; she called on China to honor its commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change and to lead by example. On the long-standing unbalanced trade and investment partnership between Europe and China, von der Leyen reminded China of its efforts on market access, reciprocity and overcapacity, and made it clear that Europe will act if China does not open its markets.
She also mentioned democracy and human rights, saying that Europe believes in democracy and human rights, and that there are issues such as anti-Semitism that are openly discussed and protected by law in Europe. So the EU must take a stand against human rights violations whenever and wherever they occur, whether in Hong Kong or in Xinjiang,” von der Leyen said. But what makes the EU back down from defending human rights?”
In a rare move, von der Leyen criticized the reticence of many member states to criticize China’s human rights violations because of their trade and economic diplomacy with China: “Why is it that even simple statements based on EU values can be delayed, abridged or held hostage for other motives?
Whenever member states suggest that the EU is too slow to respond on these issues, she wants to tell them that it is time to muster the courage to vote with a qualified majority on human rights and sanctions for human rights violations, von der Leyen said.
Echoing the European Parliament’s repeated demands in the past that legislation for an EU Magnitsky Act on Human Rights Accountability should be introduced in the EU, Von der Leyen announced that a bill for an EU Magnitsky Act on Human Rights Accountability will be introduced.
Whether in Hong Kong, Moscow or Minsk, the EU must take a clear and rapid position, Von der Leyen noted. In addition to responding more decisively to global events, the EU must deepen and refine its partnerships with allies, starting with the U.S., von der Leyen said.
The EU may not always agree with recent White House decisions, von der Leyen said. But the EU will always cherish the transatlantic alliance, an unbreakable bond based on shared values and history, and between peoples. So, whatever happens at the end of the year, the EU is ready to build a new transatlantic agenda and strengthen bilateral partnerships – whether on trade, science and technology or tariffs.
Von der Leyen stressed that the EU is ready to work with like-minded partners to reform the international system we have built together.
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