On 16 September, the President of the Commission is due to deliver her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament.
Little is expected of this ritual, awkwardly inspired by the US Congress, and it could very well again prove disappointing given its broad sweeping nature.
Yet there are grounds for declaring a state of emergency within the Union.
Caught between Russia, which has declared war on it – a fact people are reluctant to acknowledge – and a United States adrift, Europeans have no choice but to rely on their own strengths, which are far from negligible.
To do so, they must take responsibility and respond to Russia’s hostile behaviour, reject American blackmail and officially treat Chinese opportunism with suspicion.
It is up to the Member States to address these challenges and to the European institutions to draw the necessary conclusions.
The quest for European autonomy is a matter of survival for the Union. The diagnosis is clear. Only economic, commercial, financial, political and defence autonomy will allow the continent to assert itself in a harsh and competitive world.
This is not about breaking away from anyone; it is about being assertive and taking responsibility.
Over recent years, the Union has taken great leaps forward. The State of the Union assessment set out by the Robert Schuman Foundation in its Report 2026 illustrates this.
However, it must pick up speed. Mario Draghi’s proposals were unanimously endorsed, but only a third of them have been implemented to date.
The European Commission must focus on its core competences rather than getting bogged down in vague geopolitics or social issues that it should leave to the Member States.
It must prioritise reviving the essential integration of European taxation and financial markets. This is an economic emergency and it is its duty to do this.
It must modernise its governance, reject a top-down approach, empower its members and provide better political leadership for its administration.
It must learn to communicate and constantly demonstrate its value to citizens – something it has so far failed to do.
May this speech provide an opportunity to do just that, to avoid clichés and slogans, and to spur on the major European turning point that the circumstances demand.
