 Dear Madame President, dear Ursula, it's really a great pleasure to welcome you to the Davos agenda today. I remember very vividly when we celebrated together the 50th anniversary just two years ago in the snow of Davos and you just had assumed your new responsibility. It's amazing how much the world has changed in the last two years, but it's also remarkable what you have achieved. I mean there's a new European spirit and you had to manage so many difficulties or challenges, a new geopolitical, let's say, situation we have, Brexit and of course COVID, the economic difficulties in the aftermath of COVID, and nevertheless, I see a new European spirit and it's certainly very much advanced and accelerated by the very ambitious programs you have created with the European Commission. I just would like to mention the transition towards a healthy planet and a new digital age which you are driving so much. The transformation, we need the transformation of Europe. I would like to mention your leadership role in the ambitious global gateway strategy. So a lot to be discussed and the floor is yours Ursula and again we are very delighted and happy to have you here. Thank you very much Klaus. It's so good to be back at the World Economic Forum and indeed ladies and gentlemen, I'm glad to be here with you today. So there's one question that is lingering out there since the start of the pandemic and it also includes what you have said as the introduction Klaus. The question, are our democracies strong and fast enough to face the incredible challenge of COVID-19? Can democracies deliver? Well, I have no doubt. The pandemic has not only demonstrated our democracies ability to act. It has also shown that democracies are the more powerful, the more resilient and the more sustainable form of government. I know of course that we have not conquered COVID-19 yet. But if we are on our way to finally end this pandemic, it is because we have mRNA vaccines developed by European scientists. And this is thanks to our values that these scientific breakthroughs have been possible. Values such as liberty of research, freedom of science and the independent choices for investors. And all of this means having the vaccines that we are much better equipped today to fight this virus than two years ago. Let me give you some facts. Europe has delivered a total of over 1.2 billion doses of vaccines to its citizens. Now over 80% of adults in Europe are double vaccinated. But what is even more important, we are the only region in the world that has continued to export or donate to other countries from the beginning and throughout the whole pandemic. A total of 1.6 billion doses made in Europe have been delivered to 150 countries. And with industry producing more than 300 million doses of vaccine every month in Europe, there will be more to come. So these simple facts show that we can trust in democracy to deliver. And this word trust has always been a thread that runs through all editions of the World Economic Forum. Davos has always been about building trust among leaders. And most importantly, earning the trust of future generations with responsible leadership. This year, like never before, trust is the most valuable currency when we speak about the state of the world. Trust in science and vaccines can make a difference between life and death. Trust among countries can tilt the balance of international affairs towards cooperation instead of conflict. Trust in functioning societies based on the rule of law channels higher levels of long term private investment, giving these societies an edge over competitors. And this trust is also essential to all of Europe's main ambitions. Trust, as you said, Glaus, is essential for citizens to embrace the green and digital transformation or to attract young talents. The point is that the recovery, be it in Europe or globally, can only be built on trust and confidence. And this is what I want to talk about today. In the economic and financial crisis a decade ago, member states in the European Union did not untrust the European level with finding a European solution. And as you remember, the result were intergovernmental solutions with deep divisions between member states, mainly North and South. This time, with the pandemic's economic crisis, indeed the 27 member states trusted the European level. With their guarantees, they backed the European Commission to raise capital on the market and to invest it, mainly in our two priorities, the European Green Deal and digitalization. We call this huge recovery program of 800 billion euros next generation EU. And this next generation EU includes by far the largest green bond program ever. We will invest close to 40 percent of next generation EU in green projects. That's up to 300 billion euros. And so far, all the bonds we issued to finance these investments were heavily oversubscribed. And over one third of our bonds were bought by investors from outside the European Union. This is a clear sign of confidence and trust in Europe from the rest of the world. But of course, I know we must do more. So public investment alone won't work miracles unless they are matched by strong private investments. Europe alone will need to invest an additional 360 billion euros for transforming its energy system every year. That is a staggering figure. Yet it is entirely within our reach. But the private sector must come on board. And governments have to create the conditions for this to happen. And this is what we have been putting into place brick by brick by brick. We have now the first ever European climate law. And that ensures that our climate targets are not just an ambition, but a legal obligation. We have now proposed a detailed legal framework that ensures that we can reduce our emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. So this is a roadmap for the next decade, cast in law. And this provides certainty and trust for investors that if they put their money in clean and climate friendly projects, they can rely on the fact that policymakers will stay the course. Or take the critical sector of semiconductors. Demand for them is skyrocketing. Today we have microchips not only in our PCs and smartphones, but also in our cars and the heating system of our homes, in our hospitals, in the life saving ventilators. There is no digital without chips. And then European need for chips will double in the next decade. And this is why we need to radically raise Europe's game on the development, production and use of this key technology. Europe is strong in some specific areas, such as for example, the design of components for power electronics, or chips for the automotive and manufacturing industries. Europe is the world's center for semiconductor research. And Europe is also very well positioned in terms of the materials and equipment that are needed to run large chip manufacturing plants. But Europe's global semiconductors market share is only 10 percent. And today, most of our supplies come from a handful of producers outside Europe. And this is a dependency and uncertainty we simply cannot afford. So by 2030, 20 percent of the world's microchips production should be in Europe. And keep in mind that the world's production itself will double. So this means quadrupling today's European production. We have no time to lose. And this is why I can announce here today that we will propose our European Chips Act in early February. What does it do? It will help us to make progress across five areas. First, we will strengthen our world-class research and innovation capacity in Europe. Second, we will focus on ensuring European leadership in design and manufacturing. Thirdly, we will, and this is important, further adapt our state aid rules. Of course, we will also be able to make progress across five areas. Of course, under a set of strict conditions. But this will allow public support for the very first time for European first-of-a-kind production facilities, so that benefit all of Europe. Fourthly, we will improve our toolbox to anticipate and respond to shortages and crisis in this sector to shore up our security of supply, so to be better prepared. And fifth and finally, of course, we will support smaller innovative companies in accessing advanced skills, industrial partners, and equity finance. It's a whole big program, this European Chips Act. But I also want to be clear in this community. Europe will always work to keep global markets open and connected. This is in the world's interest, and it's in our own interest. But we also need to tackle the bottlenecks that slow down our own growth. Because this will help us become a stronger player, not just in some niche, but throughout the whole value chain. And it is important for us. So to conclude, we will promote diversification among like-minded partners. We will create more balanced interdependencies. And we will build supply chains we can trust by avoiding single points of failure. The point is that there will always be times that there will always be times when we need to address wider issues in our economies. And let me look at the second one. Today's global energy pressure is a case in point. We will soon mark 50 years since the start of the oil crisis in the 1970s. And I guess some of us will remember vividly the impact of the crisis on our economy, but also in our lives. I remember being on a bicycle, on the Autobahn. Some countries banned indeed the driving on Sundays, to set lower speed limits on the motorways, others rationed gasoline or told people to eat only one room in the house. And many of you know the debates it caused on the limits of growth. Now, the world is a different place today. And parallels can seem a bit tenuous. But there is a cautionary tale for us as we face today's gas crisis. And as we have our own debates on the limits of fossil fuel growth. At the time, our response was not to look at alternative sources of energy, but rather to look at alternative sources of production. So oil exploration spread far and wide from Alaska to Siberia, from the Caspian Sea to the Caucasus. The good news is that we have far more options at our disposal today than we did back then. Back then, less than one percent of electricity was generated from renewable sources worldwide. Today, this figure has jumped up to close to one-third. Today, we know much more about the climate imperative. And today, we have the technologies we need to make the transition from a fossil fuel system to a clean energy system. In the short term, we have to address the very real impact this gas crisis is having on households and businesses. My commission has put forward a toolbox of measures that member states are using to rapidly mitigate the impact of price rises. But fundamentally, today's gas crisis must serve to accelerate the transition to clean energy. It must provide the impetus we need to further integrate our energy market. And we must ensure that there are no energy islands or regions of Europe that are cut off from our network. We're working on all these points, but most importantly, we have to manage this necessary transition carefully. And this comes back to this central question of trust, because people need to trust that the transition will support the most vulnerable. Businesses need to trust that the transition will improve their competitiveness. And investors need to trust that we will stay the course whenever there are bumps on the road. There will never be a linear shift from a fossil fuel based system to the clean energy system. We must be upfront about that, but the direction is clear. And so is our commitment. As we respond to this gas crisis, we will focus on protecting those most affected. We will accelerate the transition and we will ensure that we have the reliable suppliers we need. And this leads me to my last point, that is trust in the international arena. At this moment in time, the world needs trust in democracy as much as between democracies. Because tragically, we are once again faced with the interference of some powers in the neighbour's affairs. We will not go back to the old logic of competition and spheres of influence, where entire countries were treated as possessions or backyards. We have intense days of diplomacy in different formats, with and without Russia. Russia has made its proposals, we made our proposals, and it is good that we engage in dialogue. But we do not accept Russia's attempts to divide Europe into spheres of influence. For us, the fundamental principles underpinning European security remain valid in the Helsinki final act and the Paris Charter, both signed by Russia. And we reaffirm our solidarity with Ukraine and our European partners that are threatened by Russia. And of course, we continue to stand behind the fundamental principle that Ukraine is free to decide as a sovereign state. To be very clear, we want this dialogue. We want conflicts to be solved in the bodies that have been formed for this purpose. But if the situation deteriorates, if there are any further attacks on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, we will respond with massive economic and financial sanctions. The Transatlantic Community stands firm on this. The European Union is by far Russia's biggest trading partner and by far the largest investor. And yes, this trading relationship is important to us, but it is far more important to Russia. We hope an attack won't happen, but if it does, we are prepared. And what I want us never to forget is the following. Russia and Europe share geography, culture, history. We also want a common future. Our difficulties are not with Russia, or with its people. Our difficulties are with the dangerous policies of the Kremlin. It is the reenactment of familiar patterns of autocratic behavior that underscores the old truth, where trust is lacking, force and coercion cannot replace it. And Europe's approach is completely different. We believe that trust and confidence are more sustainable than control and coercion. It is the attractiveness of our liberal democracies that the autocrats fear. Our economic success, our civil liberties, and the freedom of speech and ideas we must step up to defend these most valuable treasures of our democracies. Again, thanks for having me, dear Klaus, ladies and gentlemen. And now I'm happy to take your questions. Thank you very much, Madam President Ursula. What speech? I mean, I'm comprising so many such important issues. I just would like to highlight what you said about the European Chips Act, because it's an important step to create the physical brain for digitalization and to have it located to a certain extent in Europe. I also, your reference to the Club of Rome Report, the forum at that time launched actually the Club of Rome Report. But I think there's a big difference. At that time we spoke about the scarcity of minerals. Now we speak about the reduction of life conditions for humankind if we look at the need of the energy transition. And of course in your last remark I appreciate putting so much emphasis on our European values. Now I have some questions. I mentioned in my introductory remarks the global gateway strategy. Could you just also, because it's a very important mechanism to integrate Europe into the global context and to integrate it in a very important way, can you just give us some examples of what do you want to achieve with it? Yes, thank you very much, Klaus. So the global gateway initiative is the answer to the massive global need to invest in infrastructure. And here we want to invest in a way that mirrors our values I was just referring to. So that we want to invest around about 300 billion euros in the next seven years in critical infrastructure, be it in the healthcare sector, in education, be it in the transformation to fight climate change and go to a circular economy or in the digitalization, there's a vast need globally for these infrastructure investments. The question is how we want to invest it. And we want to invest it in a way that we are with our partners at eyes level. There are priorities, so the priority of the green transition and the digitalization, and there are critical values that have to be met. But besides that, we want our partners to come forward with the projects that they need, where they think this is important for the future of their country or that region, and then to match it with public and private investment knowledge that is coming from our side to have a real partnership in this investment. Let me take our neighbouring country, Africa, continent Africa. It is the fastest growing continent that we have. And it is a fantastic opportunity for this continent if the right policies are being put in place. Just if we look at the topic of the green transformation, fighting climate change, there is potentially an abundance of natural resources for renewable energy, sun, wind, hydropower. You just think of what the potential is. But if we look at today's share of renewables in Africa's electricity system, it's only 3%. So a huge opportunity to invest together. Let me give you an example. For example, in creating, through the renewable energies, green hydrogen, green hydrogen that will be needed on the African continent, but that will also be needed, for example, in Europe. And just think that you can match the different shores from the southern part of Europe and the northern part of Africa for the project of green hydrogen driven through renewables that are on the African continent. Another example is vaccine manufacturing. Vaccine manufacturing, mRNA technologies. What we've already started with Senegal, South Africa and Rwanda, is that we go in a public-private partnership together in this case with BioNTech to bring the technology to the continent, to Africa, and together with our African partners to make sure that we create the environment that is necessary, the regulatory environment, that's the whole medical and the authorization process that is there, to have private capital to come in, to de-risk that capital, and to create manufacturing capacities in these regions, not only for today, but also for the long-term perspective. Let me give you two figures. Today, if we look at all the vaccines administered in Africa, only 1% is produced in Africa. This is also not sustainable. Africa's goal is to have by 2040, 60% of the production done in Africa, and this is doable. So we lay the foundation for that. Or last thing, I won't be too long. We have now a partnership with South Africa to reduce the coal extraction and to go faster into renewables by building up the capacities for renewables. This is a typical topic also where it's at eyes level a partnership where both benefit. And these are examples for the Global Gateway Initiative, which comes with strategic investments, with a set of values, and with knowledge that is so necessary to share. Thank you, Ursula. After, let's say, this more policy-oriented discussion, I would add more, let's say, practical question, which concerns many of the business leaders, particularly in the energy field. When you look at the energy green deal, it's also about competitiveness. And quite a number of European enterprises now are afraid to pay the ETS, and it would give an advantage to foreign companies when exporting their products into Europe. But you want, and you have proposed the carbon border adjust mechanism, can you just tell us how confident you are that this is a completely new mechanism, an interesting mechanism and maybe not a necessary mechanism will become a reality? Yes, what is the principle? The European trading system puts a price on carbon, because our planet cannot pay the price anymore, what the damage of carbon emission does to it. So we put a price on carbon, and that nudges the companies, the business sector, to go into innovation of clean technologies. That's good, and it has been very successful in the past already. But of course, as always with innovation, at the beginning, the costs are higher. So where we have to be careful is that we keep a level playing field, that while the companies who have improved through innovation, their products towards clean technologies are not faced with competition, that comes from abroad with dirty technologies still cheap, flooding the market. And for that, we would need a carbon border adjustment mechanism, of course, WTO compatible. There's one thought behind it that is compelling. You know, we don't really want this carbon border adjustment mechanism, we are carefully introducing it, but we would prefer that other regions in the world also put a price on carbon. For example, California has an emission trading system, China is now introducing one. You can also have a tax on carbon, the instrument I'm not speaking about, but I'm speaking about the effect that we put a price on carbon that is causing climate change. And by that, nudging companies or the business sector to go into innovation. And if other regions of the world also have a price on carbon, then that's the idea of the carbon climate of the climate club. If other regions of the world also have a price on carbon, if they are part of the Paris Agreement, if they have the goal in 2050 to be climate neutral. So then together, of course, we can develop a broad market that is level playing field for innovation and for clean technologies. That's the thought behind it. Thank you very much, Madam President. We dealt with a great range of issues. And on behalf of all the participants at this open dialogue, I would like to wish you the very best for those bold, innovative policies which will ensure that Europe remains an important factor, an important region in the evolving world. So thank you again and we will now transit to the discussion with the business executives. Thank you, Ursula, and see you soon. Thank you.