Ukrainian war, von der Leyen: “Food in the terror arsenal of the Kremlin”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is conducting “a cold, merciless and calculated siege of the world’s most vulnerable countries. Food has become part of the Kremlin’s arsenal of terror and we cannot tolerate it.” This was stated by the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, speaking in the plenary session of the Parliament in Strasbourg. Read also The World Bank, adds von der Leyen, “estimates that 10 million people are pushed into extreme poverty for every percentage point of price increases. So we must not be under any illusions about the challenges ahead. We are facing a collision of crises that they will amplify food insecurity around the world. “” Some are the legacy of the pandemic and broader cost-of-living problems. For example, the price of energy that has pushed up the cost of fertilizers or the transport of goods to be exported “, he stresses. “At this stage we can put an end to the dependence on 90% of Russian oil by the end of the year. I would have hoped for 100%, but this is the unanimity rule. So 90% is fine and now we have to look to gas. For that we have presented the RePower Eu plan, worth 300 billion euros “, says the president of the European Commission. The plan, von der Leyen recalls, is based on “three pillars”: the diversification of gas suppliers and the construction of new gas pipelines and regasifiers convertible to the transport of hydrogen, energy savings and “massive investments” in renewable energy.