State of the Union 2020

In her State of the Union address on 16 September 2020, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen presented her vision for a Europe that emerges stronger from the pandemic and leads the way towards a new vitality. With NextGenerationEU, Europe has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make change happen by design. It has the vision, the plan, the investment. To enable Europe to become green, digital and more resilient, the European Commission will focus on:

• protecting lives and livelihoods in Europe, the health of our citizens and the stability of our economy
• reinforcing the building blocks of the European Green Deal and raising our ambitions
• leading the digital transformation, particularly on data, technology and infrastructure
• making the most of our single market
• continuing to rally global response as the world awaits an accessible, affordable and safe vaccine against COVID-19
• responding more assertively to global events and deepening our relations with EU’s closest neighbours and global partners
• taking a new approach to migration, remaining vigilant on the rule of law and building a union where racism and discrimination have no place

On 16 September, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also sent a Letter of Intent to David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, as the Presidency of the Council, in which she detailed the actions the Commission intends to take in the following year by means of legislation and other initiatives.

One  year  ago,  the  von  der  Leyen  Commission  made  Europe  a  promise:  we  promised  to  be  bold and daring, whenever we saw the need for action at European level. Here is a summary of the first year in office of the von der Leyen team – and of how it delivered on its commitments.