STRASBOURG: European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker insisted Wednesday that Brexit will not sink the EU, unveiling a raft of plans including a joint defense headquarters in a bid to unify the crisis-hit bloc.
In his annual State of the Union speech, Juncker urged European Union nations to overcome deep divisions and the shock of Britain鈥檚 departure in order to fight back against 鈥済alloping populism.鈥�
鈥淭he European Union still does not have enough union,鈥� Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, saying the 鈥渘ext 12 months are the crucial time to deliver.鈥�
鈥淭here are splits out there and often fragmentation where we need further union 鈥� that is leaving space for galloping populism,鈥� he added, in a speech that mixed German, French and English.
Juncker鈥檚 speech came two days before the 27 EU leaders meet without Britain in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, for a summit aimed at drawing up a roadmap for the post-Brexit future.
The head of the EU executive warned Britain it could not expect 鈥渁 la carte鈥� access to the EU鈥檚 single market if it brings back immigration controls, signalling a further hardening of Europe鈥檚 position ahead of negotiations with London.
鈥淲e respect and at the same time regret the UK decision, but the European Union as such is not at risk,鈥� said Juncker, who officially launched the Commission鈥檚 Brexit 鈥渢ask force鈥� on Wednesday.
With EU nations deeply divided, in particular by the continent鈥檚 biggest migration crisis since World War II, Juncker鈥檚 speech focused on security and the economy to find ways of working together.
鈥淲e must have a European HQ and... work toward a common military force,鈥� said Juncker 鈥� referring to plans that have long faced British hostility and which will come up at Friday鈥檚 summit.
He stressed however that this should be 鈥渃omplementary with NATO鈥� in reference to concerns that the EU will be treading on the toes of the US-led military alliance.
Juncker also hit back at rising nationalism and racism, referring to the recent killing of a Polish man in Britain with the words: 鈥淲e Europeans can never accept Polish workers being harassed, beaten up or even murdered on the streets of Harlow.鈥�
But his speech was greeted with disdain by populist leaders in the European Parliament.
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party which led the push for Brexit, criticized the focus on 鈥渕ilitary Europe鈥� and added: 鈥淗aving listened to you, I am pleased we voted to leave.鈥�
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Juncker had 鈥渞efused to listen to the huge desire of European people to get their independence back.鈥�
Juncker meanwhile proposed doubling the size of his signature investment plan to 630 billion euros ($708 billion), and announced measures to help young people hit by the eurozone debt crisis.
In a bid to make Europe鈥檚 digital economy more competitive in a tough global marketplace, he also unveiled plans to shake up copyright laws and roll out free wifi across towns and villages by 2020 and 5G mobile phone coverage by 2018.
He also called for a new EU border and coast guard force to start work quickly with 200 guards and 50 vehicles deployed in Bulgaria by October.
But the difficulties of keeping Europe united were underscored on the eve of Juncker鈥檚 speech when Luxembourg鈥檚 foreign minister said Hungary should be suspended from the EU for treating refugees like 鈥渁nimals.鈥�
Juncker鈥檚 performance in front of 751 MEPs was closely scrutinized amid speculation he has health concerns, despite strong denials by him and his spokespeople.
His speech sets the stage for Friday鈥檚 Bratislava summit where leaders will study a joint defense plan by France and Germany and other post-Brexit security plans.
In a summit invitation letter published late Tuesday, EU President Donald Tusk said it would be a 鈥渇atal error鈥� for the EU to ignore the lessons of Brexit and urged the bloc to be less 鈥減olitically correct鈥� on migration.
The leaders will launch a 鈥淏ratislava process鈥� of reforms that they aim to approve at a summit in Rome in March 2017 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the EU, a senior EU official said.