The State of the Unionaddress of the European Union was instituted by the Lisbon Treaty, with the purpose of developing a more democratic and transparent European policy. It aims to summarise the challenges facing Europe and how they can be addressed. In this article, the EURADA Secretariat would like to give you an overview of the speech’s main aspects related to the regional dimension. The address was dominated by three topics: the Russian war on Ukraine, the interrelated energy crisis, and the importance of strengthening the Single Market.
Unsurprisingly, the first topic von der Leyen addressed was the Russian war against Ukraine and the related problem of Europe's dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Reducing the latter would also help to reduce the burden of the climate crisis on the European economy. In this context, the Commission proposes an action plan for Member States to reduce their overall electricity consumption. The proposal includes a plan to cap the revenues of electricity producers that make extraordinary profits due to the war against Ukraine and climate change. The proposal could raise €140 billion to help businesses and households affected by rising energy prices. Close cooperation with local and regional authorities is needed here to ensure good governance and help local and regional businesses to continue operating, securing jobs and progress in the digital and green transformation. To this end, von der Leyen assured that Europe would invest both in sustainability and sustainable to finance the necessary transformation of the economy.
Von der Leyen furthermore underlined the importance of the twin transition (green & digital) and the need to shift towards a social market economy. She stressed the need to preserve the functioning internal market and the established supply chains. For this, the 25 million European SMEs must be at the centre of this change, and their development must not be hindered. Hence, she announced the Commission will put forward an SME Relief Package which will include improvements in three main areas: firstly, the revision of the Late Payment Directive to reduce any financial disruptions caused by late payment. Secondly, a simplified legislation to do business in the Single Market through a single set of tax rules to facilitate business in Europe (BEFIT). And finally, easier access to available funding for greening, digitalisation and employee skills in SMEs.
Concluding from a regional perspective, it became clear that the regions were not the focus of this year's State of the Union address due to the many crises Europe is facing. While President von der Leyen stressed the importance of Europe's economic competitiveness, which in turn requires strengthening the internal market and European SMEs in particular, the Russian war against Ukraine and the energy crisis are the dominant issues at the European level today. However, it will continue to be crucial to work hand in hand with cities and regions to further develop an ambitious Europe at different levels, from promoting green projects in rural areas to promoting ambitious goals in global negotiations.
