Statement by President von der Leyen on the recent developments in the US

What happened in Washington yesterday is as appalling as it is outrageous.

However, the fact that on the same night, Joe Biden was confirmed as the next American President shows how resilient the American democracy is.

Joe Biden now has a daunting task ahead of him. He must bring peace and unity; he must bridge deep divides and he must address the big issues of the future – overcoming the pandemic, how to deal with the global economic crisis as a result of this pandemic, how to protect our planet from climate change, how to advance digitalisation and above all, how to strengthen democracy.

Europe stands ready to work very closely with the new American President on all these issues. After these four very arid years that we have experienced, we are now looking forward to four fruitful years of dialogue, cooperation and good collaboration.