State of the European Union 2022: Looking back and ahead

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her third State of the European Union (SOTEU) address on 14 September 2022. Last year, the President announced several important policies in the speech – many relating to digital – such as the EU Chips Act, Cyber Resilience Act and Media Freedom Act.

While we are eagerly awaiting this year’s address, let’s use the occasion to look back at previous SOTEU speeches and into the origins of the event.

The First State of the Union

The first State of the EU took place in 2010, after the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty. The idea was to increase the transparency of the EU institutions and to set out the agenda for new laws and initiatives. This helps citizens stay informed on the latest EU developments.

The European Commission President at the time, José Manuel Barroso, delivered his first SOTEU address on 7 September 2010. As Europe was still recovering from the 2008 Financial Crisis, President Barroso decided to speak about issues relating to the economy – such as unemployment, competitiveness and growth.

In later speeches, such as his SOTEU address in 2013, President Barroso mentioned some digital topics, like the Connecting Europe Facility, which aims to reinforce Europe’s digital infrastructure and it is still in place today.

“We have to show the many areas where Europe has solved problems for citizens. Europe is not the cause of problems; Europe is part of the solution.” – José Manuel Barroso, SOTEU 2013?

New President, New SOTEUs

Jean-Claude Juncker became European Commission President in 2015, so it was his turn to deliver the next State of the EU addresses over his 4-year term in office.

In his first address on 9 September 2015, President Juncker spoke about a number of important issues. Most notably, he highlighted the concept of the Digital Single Market – whereby the same digital rules should apply all over Europe.

In addition, President Juncker also emphasised the agreement on the Roaming Regulation, which would later come into force in 2017. This important law abolished mobile phone charges when traveling within the EU, so Europeans would no longer have to endure unexpected bills after their holidays. An updated version of the Roaming Regulation was also introduced this year.

An overview and highlights from all President Juncker’s SOTEU addresses can be found here.

The Future of the EU

President von der Leyen succeeded Jean-Claude Juncker on 1 December 2019. The President’s first SOTEU address, on 16 September 2020, took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, most of the focus was on tackling the ongoing health crisis and carving out a path towards economic recovery.

As the Commission had announced the theme of the twin digital and green transition, the President also outlined a few key digital initiatives in her 2020 address. For example, President von der Leyen announced Europe’s Digital Decade – clearly defining digital goals to be achieved by 2030, relating to connectivity, skills, businesses and public services.

The President also emphasised the importance of technologies that help keep us connected, and this became even clearer during the pandemic.

Building up on that, President von der Leyen’s 2021 SOTEU introduced several important policies for the digital world.

The address called for a Media Freedom Act to protect the concept of information as a public good and to ensure that journalists have the necessary protection.

The EU Chips Act was also announced in the 2021 speech to strengthen the EU’s semiconductor ecosystem. Chips are essential in all high-tech sectors, such as the car industry, communications, data processing, space, smart devices and gaming, to name a few.

However, as more and more of our devices become interconnected, it is also vital that we have a strong level of cybersecurity in Europe. This is why President von der Leyen announced the Cyber Resilience Act in her 2021 speech.

Are you ready for the next one? Make sure to mark your calendars for the next SOTEU on 14 September 2022.