EU chief to lay out priorities and vision for tackling the bloc’s challenges in major speech
Von der Leyen will call for tougher EU action on security, AI and migration, including new tools against cyber threats and a 25% insurance gap on climate losses.
- On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, outlining the Commission's priorities for the coming year.
- Following July's massive migrant influx into Ceuta, Spain, von der Leyen is expected to propose stricter asylum measures and announce the 'EU Kids Act' to regulate minors' social media use.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attends as special guest while von der Leyen highlights the 90 billion euro loan supporting Ukraine and calls on third countries to fill the remaining budget gap.
- EU diplomats indicate Canada may join the bloc's loan scheme on terms similar to the U.K., potentially addressing Ukraine's $27 billion budget hole as Brussels weighs additional energy infrastructure support.
- Member states remain divided on key issues including unanimity requirements and industrial policy, posing challenges to implementing the Commission's proposed legislative agenda despite von der Leyen's ambitious announcements.
520 Articles
520 Articles
European leaders, with their hesitant intelligence, have said two contradictory things to the world this week. One, we name Canada Associated State (well). Two, we agreed with Trump about Greenland after he threatened to annex him.Where is the US president? Von der Leyen does not mention Trump in his speech about the future of the EU. I liked that Ursula von der Leyen began her speech in Strasbourg quoting Charles Dickens. No one has expressed b…
Ursula von der Leyen’s Europe: Strategic autonomy or a new geopolitical front?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s 2026 State of the Union address presented a vision of a European Union that is increasingly prepared to act independently in a more fragmented and competitive international system. Her speech combined warnings about security threats with calls for greater European defence spending, reduced dependence on foreign suppliers, stronger […]
The EU must rethink its security, because we are not quick enough to react, says von der Leyen. And the pressure is not only coming from Russia, writes EU correspondent Karin Axelsson in this analysis.
The President of the European Commission delivered her annual speech on the state of the Union to the European Parliament on Wednesday morning. "In a fragile world like glass, Europe's only sovereignty is that of Europeans," she said. "What should be kept from it?
Ursula von der Leyen envisages a possible closer link between Canada and the EU, but remains vague in the details. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney becomes more concrete. His message: democracies must become more independent in a world of political and economic pressure.
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