State of the Union 2026: A Stronger, Yet More Vulnerable Europe
The best of times, and yet uncertain times. Ursula von der Leyen described Europe as stronger than ever, but at the same time more vulnerable than ever.
On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her third annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg. For the first time in history, the honoured guest was the head of government of a non-member country, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. A quote from Charles Dickens captured the central paradox of this year's message: Europe is at once the strongest it has ever been, yet also as vulnerable as it has ever been. Von der Leyen described a continent facing an openly hostile world, while at the same time offering specific answers on the economy, climate, security, migration and the protection of children online.
Economy: Speed, the Single Market and Reducing Dependencies
The main priority remains kickstarting the European economy. The Commission announced a political agreement on the "One Europe, One Market Roadmap”, which aims to complete the historic overhaul of the single market by the end of next year. Permitting procedures for strategically important projects are to be accelerated, and efforts to cut administrative burden will continue. The twelve omnibus packages introduced so far are expected to save businesses around €17 billion a year. The President also called on Member States to commit to reducing single market barriers at the national level, through a pact against gold-plating.
As regards financing the economy, the Commission will prepare a new Banking Package focused on simplification and reducing fragmentation, and work on the Savings and Investments Union will continue. The Scaleup Europe Fund was also mentioned, with its first investments already going, for example, to ICEYE, a company founded by a Polish-Finnish duo of former Erasmus students.
Energy and Raw Materials: Electrification and a New Raw Materials Corporation
The Union's goal is to double the share of electricity by 2040, which should save European industry up to €260 billion a year on fossil fuel imports. The key tool is to be the Grids Package, intended to speed up the connection of new renewable energy capacity. While more than 80 GW was added last year, six times that amount is still waiting to be connected to the grid.
The Union is currently more than 80% dependent on China for many critical raw materials, with dependency reaching up to 90% for some rare earths. In response, a newly announced European Corporation on Critical Raw Materials is to help with joint purchasing and stockpiling of materials essential for electric vehicles, chips, batteries, clean technology and defence.
Climate: The Summer of Truth and New Resilience Tools
The President described the past summer as the "summer of truth." Wildfires destroyed an area of 660,000 hectares, 12 million tonnes of crops were lost, and heatwaves claimed more than 35,000 lives. The Commission will therefore present, next month, a new framework for climate resilience targeting the 100 most vulnerable territories, as well as a Climate Insurance Alliance (since currently only a quarter of disaster losses are insured), a new European Water Initiative, and a European Heatwave Plan. Preparations for a future European Firefighting Fleet were also announced.
Artificial Intelligence: Between Opportunity and Risk
On AI, von der Leyen stressed that Europe wants to benefit from the technology but must not underestimate the risks posed by increasingly powerful models, including their potential misuse for hacking attacks or the risk of AI agents acting autonomously beyond developers' control. The Commission will therefore work with partners such as Canada and the United Kingdom on model evaluation and early warning of possible risks. The President also announced talks with leading AI companies about slowing down the development of self-recursive models.
At the same time, Europe wants to maximise the benefits of AI in the real economy. In November, the Commission will present initiatives focused on five key sectors: health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, and defence and space. The use of AI in breast cancer screening was cited as an example, with emphasis on the technology being meant to support doctors, not replace them.
Security and Defence: A New European "Article 4"
In response to growing hybrid threats such as cyberattacks, sabotage or drone incursions, including the recent incident in Leipzig, the Commission, together with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will propose a new European Security Strategy. A key element is to be the so-called Emergency Security Protocol, an equivalent of NATO's Article 4, which, once triggered by one Member State, would convene all others for a coordinated response. The President also mentioned plans to consider establishing a European Security Council, involving partners such as Canada, Norway, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
In defence, a new European Instrument for Strategic Enablers, fully aligned with NATO, will cover capabilities such as air defence, strategic transport or air-to-air refuelling.
Support for Ukraine Continues
Europe has pledged Ukraine its strongest support yet in the conflict, including strengthening air defence (last week, the purchase of American Patriot missiles was approved for the first time). The Freya project, a joint Ukrainian-European programme for a modular missile defence system, is also being developed, and a new programme for joint projects with Ukrainian companies will be set up, financed from the remaining funds of the SAFE instrument. Efforts to tighten sanctions against Russia are also set to continue.
Trade Partnerships and the Central Asian Corridor
This year the Union signed free trade agreements with India, Mercosur, Mexico, Australia and Indonesia, and now has trade agreements with more than 80 countries. In this context, von der Leyen announced further investment in the Middle Corridor, a trade and transport route connecting Europe with Asia via the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Through the Global Gateway investment strategy, the Commission aims to mobilise up to €12 billion in investment, with the goal of tripling trade flows and shortening delivery times by 2030. Implementation of the strategy is to be supported by a Regional Connectivity Summit, which the Commission will organise with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
Canada as an Associate Member?
A symbolic moment of the speech was the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to whom von der Leyen proposed opening the path for Canada to become the EU's first associate member. Relations between the EU and Canada are to deepen under a new Alliance for the Future, building on the CETA trade agreement and creating a shared space for economic growth and security.
A Safer Internet for Children
As in previous years, protecting children online remains one of the most closely watched topics. The President announced the proposed EU Kids Act, which would introduce a ban on social media for children under 13, a ban on personal accounts under 15 (until then, only "mini accounts" supervised by parents), and an obligation for platforms to ensure safe-by-design settings for the 15–18 age group. The Commission also plans to reverse the burden of proof, so that platforms themselves must prove their services are safe. This autumn, a broader Digital Fairness Act is set to follow, targeting the addictiveness of digital services more generally.
Migration, the Social Pillar and Enlargement
The Commission is responding to this summer's migratory pressure from the eastern borders across the Mediterranean to the crisis in Ceuta with a proposal for a new European Emergency Response Framework, which would allow, under precisely defined conditions, temporary flexibility in standard migration procedures. A new Mediterranean Youth Skills and Jobs initiative was also announced. On social policy, the Commission will prepare a Quality Jobs Act and a European Care Deal, building on the recently presented Affordable Housing Act, and next year will mark the tenth anniversary of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
On enlargement, the President praised April's elections in Hungary as a return of the country "to the heart of the Union" and announced the upcoming presentation of accession roadmaps for the candidate countries that have made the most progress, namely Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkan countries.
Accompanying Documents
As in previous years, the speech is accompanied by a letter of intent, this time addressed to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, whose country has held the Presidency of the Council of the EU since 1 July 2026. The full text of the speech in all official languages, the video recording, and accompanying materials including an overview of the first two years of the current Commission's mandate are available on the European Commission's website.