15/09/2026
Like every September, EU Commission President will announce the agenda for the year ahead during the State of the Union. As interest groups, including NGOs, strive to get their wish list mentioned in that speech, the question remains whether that inclusion makes any difference.
In her 2025 SOTEU address, Von der Leyen declared “Europe’s independence moment”, yet one year later the EU remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, relies on restricted Chinese raw materials for its digital and green transitions and depends on U.S. artificial intelligence frontier models. It may therefore be harder for her to sell Europeans the same promise this year.
The Commission has increasingly adopted a crisis-management approach to policymaking. Security, energy, migration, competitiveness and technological sovereignty have each become urgent priorities, often requiring rapid responses. Yet urgency should not become a permanent substitute for deliberation. The Commission’s omnibus packages were initially presented as a way to reduce unnecessary burdens and improve competitiveness, but in practice they are becoming much more than a technical exercise. Omnibus regulation and other procedural shortcuts are increasingly being used as a default mode of EU lawmaking, with major legislative changes being pursued without the level of impact assessment and public consultation that citizens and stakeholders deserve. The concern is that deregulation is weakening the democratic safeguards that should accompany major changes to the rules governing the European economy and society.
For civil society, this raises a broader question about how the Commission intends to make policy in the year ahead. Simplification should not come at the expense of impact assessments, transparency or meaningful consultation. If speed becomes the default justification for bypassing established processes, the space for civil society to contribute to EU policymaking risks narrowing further.
From crisis management to political direction
Geopolitical tensions are reshaping the EU’s place in the world: from migration and elections to defence, competitiveness and Europe’s changing relationship with the US and China, the pressures facing the EU are multiplying. With major Member States heading to the polls over the coming months, European politics is likely to become even more contested, with migration, security, national sovereignty and the cost of the green and digital transitions shaping electoral debates. Migration is a clear illustration of this political tension. The EU has finally put a common framework in place through the Pact on Migration and Asylum, but its implementation will test the Union’s ability to reconcile national political demands with European commitments. This year’s State of the Union offers a chance to take stock of how Europe is making decisions, whose voices shape them, and what kind of political project the EU wants to become.
These pressures have an important impact for civil society: as migration, security, national sovereignty and the cost of the green and digital transitions become increasingly contested in national elections, the space for evidence-based and inclusive policy debate will become even more important.
Beyond another State of the Union
On 16 September, Von der Leyen will have the opportunity to acknowledge that the Union is entering an increasingly challenging geopolitical environment, while proposing something more significant than another initiative, another shortcut or another crisis-driven response. For civil society, the question will go beyond what she announces. It will be about what happens next: whether the Commission’s priorities are developed through transparent and meaningful policymaking, whether civil society has a genuine opportunity to shape them, and whether the commitments made in Strasbourg translate into action.