In his annual State of the Union address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged the EU to “become a more sovereign actor on the world stage.” He added that “if Europe were to unite all the political, economic and military might of its nations, its role in the world could be strengthened.” And, “we will always be a global payer but it is time we started being a global player too.”
His proposals include promoting the euro currency abroad to compete with the US dollar, maintaining close ties with the UK after Brexit through free trade agreement, new rules to crack down on cross-border terrorism, tackling migration by increasing resources to the EU border and coastguard and, a trade deal with Africa for attracting investments and job creation.
On Brexit, Juncker said “I welcome Prime Minister May’s proposal to develop an ambitious new partnership for the future, after Brexit. We agree with the statement made in Chequers that the starting point for such a partnership should be a free trade area between the United Kingdom and the European Union.”
