16 September 2020

State of the Union: Commission President von der Leyen "Charting the course for the year ahead" - key extracts

In her State of the Union address on 16 September 2020, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen presented her vision for a Europe that emerges stronger from the pandemic and leads the way towards a new vitality.

"Confidence in the euro has never been stronger.

The historic agreement on NextGenerationEU shows the political backing that it has.

We must now use this opportunity to make structural reforms in our economies and complete the Capital Markets Union and the Banking Union.

Deep and liquid capital markets are essential to give businesses access to the finance they need to grow and invest in recovery and in the future. And they are also a pre-requisite to further strengthen the international role of the euro. So let’s get to work and finally complete this generational project."

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Relevant extracts from Letter to Parliament and Council

An economy that works for people

• Legislative proposal on an investment protection and facilitation framework
• Revision of the prudential rules for insurance and reinsurance companies (Solvency II)
• Revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation
• Legislative proposal on sustainable corporate governance
• Establishment of an EU Green Bond Standard
• Proposal for a legislative package on anti-money laundering

Key points from speech

With NextGenerationEU, Europe has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make change happen by design. It has the vision, the plan, the investment. To enable Europe to become green, digital and more resilient, the European Commission will focus on:

• Protecting lives and livelihoods in Europe, the health of our citizens and the stability of our economy;
• Reinforcing the building blocks of the European Green Deal and raising our ambitions;
• Leading the digital transformation, particularly on data, technology and infrastructure;
• Making the most of our single market;
• Continuing to rally global response as the world awaits an accessible, affordable and safe vaccine against COVID-19;
• Responding more assertively to global events and deepening our relations with EU’s closest neighbours and global partners;
• Taking a new approach to migration, remaining vigilant on the rule of law and building a union where racism and discrimination have no place.

© European Council