The time has come for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to deliver the State of the European Union (SOTEU) to discuss with MEPs what the commission has done over the years, as well as its vision for the future. 

A press briefing addressing the expectations of the debates was led today by the President of the EP Roberta Metsola who gave a quick and concise overview of the union’s priorities. 

1. Climate change

After what Metsola called “a summer that has ravaged Europe and its neighbouring regions with natural disasters,” climate change will remain a priority on the European agenda. 

2. Ukraine

Russia’s aggression on Ukraine will continue to be an essential and high-priority challenge for the institution. Fortunately, there is little disagreement amongst political groups within the union regarding the war. 

3. The economy

“How are we going to keep our jobs? How are we going to tackle the cost of living crisis?”

These are two questions that will hold a significant place within legislative debates.

During this morning’s short briefing, Metsola took questions from the press where she talked about issues like EU enlargement, migration, and the rise of far-right political parties within member states. 

With regards to enlargement, Metsola made it clear that a larger Europe is a stronger one. The EU must continue to advocate for European growth, despite some member states that may oppose the effort. 

Moreover, while discussing enlargement, Metsola also touched upon treaty change – a current divisive debate regarding whether the institution should launch a reform of the EU Treaty, the first of such an effort since the Lisbon Treaty went into effect in 2009. 

She explained that treaty change is needed for more efficient enlargement, because “what works for 27 may not work for 33, 34, or 35.”

Regarding migration, she explained that the EU goes through every agreement of member states made with a third party to ensure that the different aspects (like human rights, trafficking, and more) are appropriately covered.  

Metsola further explained that an external examination tool for asylum application processing would be very useful to ensure that people do not continue to “die in our seas”.

Such a change in procedure is intended to delegate migration processes to countries outside the European Union’s borders. This would ease the migratory pressure on member States at the EU’s borders; reduce migrants’ need to undertake potentially fatal land and sea journeys and; facilitate a more regular influx into the continent through onward resettlement throughout Europe.

The debates will be held on 13th September so stay tuned for more easy-to-understand information on the State of the EU.

Lovin Malta will be bringing you up to speed with all the latest updates from Strasbourg, so be sure to tune in to our social media accounts over the coming days as we bring you more from the State of the EU and beyond.

Are you interested to see what is at the top of the EU agenda?