This week, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivered her first State of the European Union (SOTEU) address since starting her 5-year mandate at the end of 2019.
What is SOTEU?
This speech, usually delivered at the European Parliament’s Plenary session in Strasbourg, took place in Brussels due to the coronavirus. Since José Manuel Barroso first gave the SOTEU address in 2010 under the terms of the ‘Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission’, it has become an important milestone on the policy-making agenda. A European Commission President’s first SOTEU is often an opportunity to set out a path for his/her eventual legacy. Focused on positioning the EU as a global leader and steering the European Union (EU) onto a course that combines economic growth, social justice and the fight against climate change, President Von der Leyen set out an ambitious, targeted-oriented agenda.
The global context
This year’s speech comes at a time when many of the EU’s foundational principles and values faces challenges, and when many citizens feel increasingly disconnected and disenfranchised. The global economic outlook remains uncertain as the coronavirus pandemic continues to progress, with the number of daily new infections globally increasing and many containment measures remain in force. Combined with an unstable global geopolitical landscape defined not least by war and instability in neighbouring regions, the enduring migration crisis, Brexit and the erosion of EU-UK relations, the EU’s relationship with the US, Turkey, China as well as Russia underlined by the recent attack on Alexey Navalny.
Time to tackle defining generational issues
This context gave President Ursula Von der Leyen the impetus she needed to bolster the priorities she laid out as she embarked on her term at the helm of the European Commission just nine months ago. Acknowledging the impact and ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, the President called for greater unity amongst member states and vowed to strengthen the bloc’s crisis preparedness and management protocols. She highlighted the need to build a robust European health union underpinned by the EU’s leadership of the reform of the WHO and efforts to find and equitably distribute a safe and affordable vaccine. She underlined the importance of respecting the rule of law and universal values of democracy, human rights and diversity and pledged to appoint a new anti-racism coordinator.
Policy Priorities
The coronavirus pandemic has tested businesses, requiring them to swiftly reorganise supply chains, initiate or address weaknesses and gaps in their digital transformation processes, adapt to work from home office arrangements and make difficult financial decisions to remain viable.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to create global uncertainty, the ambitious plan set out by President Von der Leyen highlights how organisations must look further into the future not just to remain viable but to become more resilient to future shocks including making fundamental shifts to address the climate crisis.
Where to next?
This SOTEU is a timely juncture to reassess your organisation’s public affairs and communication strategies to ensure they deliver meaningful and tangible results. Now more than ever, effective engagement must be integrated and seek to create impact and elevate the human experience using technology. It requires creativity to adapt to audience information consumption habits and to deliver messages and execute actions which demonstrate purposeful attributes to your internal and external network of stakeholders. It is an opportunity for organisations to re-group and renew efforts by
- contributing to policy debates on pertinent issues
- connecting with communities of shared interest
- collaborating through shared engagement.
Here are the main takeaways from this year’s SOTEU:
Protect Europe’s workforce | Looking beyond the short-term work schemes which stepped in to protect EU’s citizens left unemployed due to lockdown and other containment measures required to deal with the coronavirus; the Commission plans to set up a framework for minimum wages.
Strengthen the Eurozone | Amid medium to long-term economic instability, the Commission will move forward with plans to complete the Capital Markets Union and the Banking Union.
Protect the Single Market | The onset of the global pandemic highlighted not only the fragility of the Single Market but also the importance of ensuring it functions effectively. As a result, the Commission plans to propose a new strategy for the future of the Schengen area and present an update to the industrial strategy and reforms to the EU’s competition framework in early 2021.
European Green Deal | At July’s pivotal European Council summit President Von der Leyen positioned the Green Deal as the cornerstone to Europe’s recovery process and a way to get to grips with the social, economic as well as broader political and constitutional challenges facing the EU. President Von der Leyen reinforced this commitment and announced bolder commitments to ensure Europe becomes the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and meet its Paris Agreement obligations.
- Emission reduction target to increase from 40 – 55% | Acknowledging the findings of the public consultation and impact assessment, conducted under the auspices of the Green Deal, President Von der Leyen stated that Europe’s economy and industry could reach this revised target.
- Commitment to revise all climate and energy legislation to meet the 55% target | The European Commission will review all legislation to meet the EU’s commitment to enhance emissions trading, boost renewable energy, improve energy efficiency and reform energy taxation.
- EU Green Bond Standard and Investments | To maintain efforts to develop a reliable EU Green Bond Standard, the EU will seek to raise 30% of the EU’s budget through green bonds. This target will be coupled with specific investments in high-impact projects linked to the use of hydrogen energy, the circular economy and a pledge to create 1 million electric charging points.
Digital Agenda |President Von der Leyen emphasised the role of the EU’s digital strategy and outlined forthcoming proposals or plans connected to artificial intelligence (AI), data and the industrial strategy to help achieve the bloc’s target of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.
- European Cloud – GaiaX | The EU will build a European cloud to protect and store Europe’s industrial, energy and healthcare data.
- Artificial Intelligence | The Commission will publish proposals next year to establish governance around the use of AI.
- European e-identity | The Commission will also propose a secure European e-identity to allow citizens to control how their data is accessed and used for different transactions.
- Infrastructure and connectivity | The President pledged investments and resources to ensure broadband connections reach citizens and business, particularly in rural areas. Investments will also go towards 5G, 6G and fiber connections.
Trade Agenda |The President recognised the need for reforms to the multilateral system and pledged to lead reforms of the WTO.
- Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism | This mechanism will be introduced to encourage foreign producers and EU importers to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring a level playing field which is compatible with WTO rules.
- Digital Tax | If an agreement on a suitable framework is not found through the OECD and G20 global forums, the European Commission will publish its proposal in early 2021.
- Africa | The EU will continue to strengthen its strategic alliance with Africa based on five pillars: green transition and energy access, digital transformation, sustainable jobs and economic growth, peace and governance and migration and mobility.
- Brexit | President Von der Leyen stated that the EU would never backtrack on the Withdrawal Agreement. She stated that it could not be unilaterally changed, disregarded or dis-applied.
- China | President Von der Leyen called on China to meet its Paris Agreement commitments and called on China to fully engage in building an investment partnership.
- Transatlantic agenda | Looking beyond this year’s US Presidential election, President Von der Leyen vowed to establish a new transatlantic agenda focused on trade, technology and taxation.