Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will want to make her final State of the Union address count by trumpeting everything she has done to improve Europeans’ lives over the past four years — from conquering COVID-19 to countering Russia’s war in Ukraine.
At the same time, she faces a wave of departures from Commission headquarters at the Berlaymont — including some of its best-known names, competition chief Margrethe Vestager and Dutch Green Deal supremo Frans Timmermans.
The EU executive boss will need to reassure increasingly anxious staffers the Commission isn’t going to fall apart on her watch. And von der Leyen will have to find ways of addressing increasingly urgent questions on whether she plans to seek another five-year term after the European Parliament election in 2024.
And if von der Leyen wants to keep the prospect of a second term alive, she will need to throw a few bones out to the people who will ultimately decide her political fate. That means she can’t let her speechwriters complete the task on autopilot.
We’ll be following every word. Stay tuned for POLITICO’s live coverage and expert policy analysis — starting 8 a.m. on Tuesday, September 13.
State of the Union 2023: Live updates on von der Leyen’s speech to the EU
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