State of the Union 2021

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her State of the Union address on 15 September 2021. Within her address, the President outlined flagship initiatives which the Commission plans to undertake in the coming year.

These, amongst others, include:

• Working on closing the climate finance gap, together with the EU’s global partners
• Leading the digital transformation that will create jobs and drive competitiveness, while ensuring technical excellence and security of supply.

The address outlined the importance of “a Europe united in responsibility”. It reinforces the urgency of tackling the climate crisis and outlines that Europe is ready to do more, while calling on major economies to fulfil their responsibilities.

In addition, the President of the European Commission also sent a Letter of Intent on 15 September to David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament, and Prime Minister Janez Janša, as the Presidency of the Council. The Letter details actions which the Commission intends to take in the following year by means of legislation and other initiatives.

Key new initiatives which are of particular relevance include legislative proposals for the ‘European Green Deal’ and ‘A Europe fit for the digital age’. The Letter outlines the intent to put forward a Legislative proposal on an EU framework for harmonised measurement of transport and logistics emissions. In addition, regarding the digital transformation, a legislative proposal on multimodal digital mobility services is included.

For further information, and to access both the State of the Union address and Letter of Intent, please visit the following website:

• State of the Union 2021 | European Commission (europa.eu)