State of the Union

Ähm, Peking trägt das mit, solang sein eigener Anteil dann auch eben gesichert ist und, ähm, da kommen wir jetzt gleich sicher noch auf die Details.

Details.Ähm, bei einer Milliarde Euro täg, einer Milliarde Euro täglich liegt das Handelsdefizit der EU mit China, hat Frau von der Leyen auch noch mal im September in ihrer State of the Union-Rede, ähm, betont.

Ähm, Bernhard, wie würdest du denn das sehen? Ist, äh, diese, d-diese, ja, Annäherung in Peking denn jetzt ein Schritt hin zu einer ausgeglicheneren Handelsbeziehung?

Das ist es ganz bestimmt nicht.

Let's talk about these influencers.

There were loads of them, almost 70 of them, at the State of the Union address last month when Sir Yvonne de Lyon told the European Parliament in Strasbourg everything she was going to do this year.

All these influencers, did they go down very well? You were there, weren't you?

I was there, and I have to tell you, Ian, I mean, no offence, but...

Why are we talking about this today?

There is a reason.

It is because we've got some super fun reporting in this morning's playbook by Sepp Starcevic and Gerardo Fortuna, who have revealed that after the State of the Union happened, when Ursula von der Leyen was put into a room with these 70 influencers, her social media team, her comms team, was very upset with the number of them in that room and basically were saying that the parliament invited too many and what the bloody hell were they thinking?

Well, it can't have been fun.

What exactly is the EU Kids Act, please?

Well, it was a big announcement as part of the State of the Union address from the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

So that's her big annual speech that she makes to members of European Parliament and us as citizens, and declaring what they're going to do over the next year.

Basically, their, their work in progress.

Yeah, correct.

And one other important developments of the recent weeks, as we spoke just about Xi Jinping and Trump, was the State of the Union.

Ursula von der Leyen addressed European parliamentarians, officials, a number of government representatives, many were in Strasbourg when she was in the middle of September speaking on the ambitions and goals and objectives of Europe.

And then there is this China question.

And actually, I would say contrary to our expectations at the Europe Future Forum, we just had a day before a discussion between Teresa Fallon and Matej Simalczyk about Europe not being very good at naming the problem and trying this policy of being basically blindfolded in navigating the world of today's economic statecraft.

And then we had Ursula speaking with strong tone, quite surprisingly to my mind, And I wonder what's your reading of that and what to expect of the European ambitions in terms of policy, because she also promised that there will be deeds to follow, not just words, from the State of the Union when she spoke on China specifically.

So

what does Europe have down the sleeve, so to say, in its economic security strategy when it comes to China, its diplomacy and economy when dealing with Chinese ambitions?

When you're tangled up in legal disputes, nothing screams "I'm innocent" like a makeshift fortress of barbed wire and good old-fashioned evasion.

President von der Leyen delivers State of the Union speech, streaming now.

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and it helps us to better understand and conserve the ecosystems when we know what species are present and gives us a better opportunity to actually protect the rainforest when we know what's in it and we can argue about protecting it.

Every September, the President of the European Commission delivers the State of the Union Address to the European Parliament, setting out the EU's key challenges, priorities and initiatives for the year ahead.

Following this year's address, our colleague Veronika Szczepanova spoke with Petr Stanil, head of the European Commission representation in Slovakia, about what the State of the Union means beyond Brussels and what its priorities could mean for a smaller member state, such as Slovakia.

Honorable members, it was the best of times.

It was the worst of times.

So if I look at Europe today, I would say the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been.

The state of our Union can also feel as precarious as it has ever been.

With those statements seemingly contradictory at first, yet both true, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, opened this year's State of the Union address, or SOTEU, to the European Parliament.

[upbeat music]

[upbeat music]First, we talk to head of the European Commission representation in Slovakia about the recent State of the Union address and what the EU's priorities for the year ahead from climate resilience and AI to new partnerships could mean for Slovakia.

There can be different views about the speech, its content, its impact, but the fact is that if you are listening carefully, you see an identification, a diagnosis, of what is the European Union facing nowadays, both internally and externally.

And then, with the new academic year on the way, the latest episode of Slovak Soundcheck brings you useful Slovak vocabulary for navigating university life.

So if I look at Europe today, I would say the state of our Union is the strongest it has ever been.

The state of our Union can also feel as precarious as it has ever been.

With those statements seemingly contradictory at first, yet both true, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, opened this year's State of the Union address, or SOTU, to the European Parliament.

The address is delivered every September and sets out the European Union's main challenges, priorities, and initiatives for the year ahead.

But I still think fundamentally the problem is There isn't anyone to be the core interlocutor.

And that's why Ursula von der Leyen at the European State at the State of the Union Address for the EU State of the Union Address that she gives a few weeks ago in Strasbourg in front of the European Parliament called for a European Security Council, which would include the UK, potentially NATO Secretary General.

to basically get Europe on the same page here.

So I think we're seeing a ton of activity.

We have a lot going on this week to cover.

First up, I would like to spend some time on the State of the Union address from Ursula von der Leyen from last week, where she highlighted the agenda for the coming year.

In it, there's plenty on how to make Europe more competitive.

A headline-grabbing proposal around a closer relationship with Canada has little teeth yet, but the intention is very much in line with the competitiveness agenda.

Let's get started.

Last week, there was a fair bit of news at a European Commission level.

First of all, Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the Union address.

There was plenty in it, but I think what is worth focusing on is the transition from diagnosis of Europe's competitiveness problem to a focus on action.