The President of the European Commission delivered her State of the Union address

Independence, unity, competitiveness. Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the Union's long-term priorities in her speech.

On Wednesday, 10 September, in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered the annual State of the Union address. This year’s speech assessed the European Union’s role in the current geopolitical crisis and stressed the need for unity at both European and institutional levels. She outlined all the key priorities of the current College of Commissioners, including unwavering support for Ukraine, investment in European defence, and presented several new initiatives in the areas of health, democracy, and energy.

Europe is in a fight

The speech made clear that Europe recognises the urgency of prioritising defence. Ursula von der Leyen opened with the words: “Europe is in a fight”, setting the geopolitical context behind many of the Union’s new initiatives and priorities. Among them are the Qualitative Military Edge programme to ensure massive investment in Ukraine’s defence, and the existing EU Preparedness Union Strategy, which mobilises investment in Europe’s defence. New patrols along the EU’s eastern flank, a European drone defence system, and a new European Defence Semester will also form part of this effort.

Nuclear energy as a key source – boosting investment and business

Von der Leyen underlined that Europe must also focus on the space industry and energy. While renewable energy will remain a priority, nuclear power was highlighted as a fundamental source. She presented a Grids Package and an Energy Highways initiative. These highways are designed to address eight critical bottlenecks in Europe’s energy infrastructure, helping to stabilise prices and strengthen energy independence.

The President further announced massive investment in digital and clean technologies, supported by the Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe. Looking ahead, a Savings and Investments Union and a so-called 28th regime will be created to support innovative businesses, alongside a new Scaleup Europe Fund to mobilise private investors. These efforts also include AI Gigafactories to boost European startups – with growing participation from the private sector.

Digital and clean technologies: faster, smarter, European

The President also introduced the Clean Industrial Deal, which identifies obstacles holding back industrial development. By removing barriers and strengthening both demand and supply, Europe aims to attract more investment and consolidate its leadership in clean technologies. The Battery Booster package and the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act are just examples of the upcoming measures.

Von der Leyen highlighted research as Europe’s most valuable global asset. Through the Choose Europe initiative, the Commission wants to attract top scientists and researchers to Europe and ensure they stay.

Democracy and strong media as safeguards of freedom

Europe’s independence and competitiveness also depend on safeguarding freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law. A new European Centre for Democratic Resilience will build capacity to tackle information manipulation and disinformation.

Von der Leyen also underlined the importance of supporting independent journalism, noting the current crisis of traditional media and the spread of “news deserts”. To counter this, she announced a new Media Resilience Programme to strengthen the resilience of media, independent journalism, and media literacy. The latter is also part of the first of four pillars of the Union of Skills, focusing mainly on younger pupils and students within civic education and active citizenship training.

Nevertheless, this year’s State of the Union speech included fewer references to skills and education than expected. The accompanying Letter of Intent does mention the Skills Portability Initiative, but this was already presented in March as part of the Union of Skills. The initiative is due to launch in 2026 and is listed as one of the main priorities for the year ahead.

A safer internet for children and young people

The key youth-related topic raised by the President was online safety, especially on social media. Unlimited access to online content carries risks of harmful material (including self-harm) and cyberbullying. To address this, von der Leyen announced the creation of an expert panel to present updated recommendations by the end of this year on how to better protect children and young people online. She suggested that the EU might draw inspiration from developments in Australia and acknowledged that similar measures could soon be adopted at European level.

Accompanying documents and a Czech footprint

The address was accompanied by a Letter of Intent addressed to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose country currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. The letter summarises the main points of the speech and adds others, such as the importance of the Competitiveness Compass. The full recording of the speech, its transcript in all official EU languages, the letter of intent, and complementary documents – such as a review of the first year of the new Commission’s mandate and a timeline – are available on the European Commission’s website.

Finally, as a noteworthy detail, the visual publication on the first year of the Commission’s mandate features a photograph of young Czech physicist Tomáš Čermák, who, together with Slovak colleague Anna Podmanická, won the European round of The Earth Prize this year with a project for cleaning water of pharmaceuticals, drugs, antibiotics, and bacteria.