Wednesday 14 September: President Juncker delivers his State of the Union address at the European Parliament

The news:

On Wednesday 14 September, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker i, will deliver his State of the Union address at the European Parliament. The speech will be followed by a plenary debate. The State of the Union address traditionally kick-starts the dialogue with Parliament and Council to prepare the Commission Work Programme for 2017. It is the European Commission's contribution to the informal meeting of the 27 Heads of State or Government in Bratislava on 16 September 2016.

The background:

Every year in September, the President of the European Commission delivers his State of the Union speech before the European Parliament, taking stock of achievements of the past year and presenting priorities for the year ahead. The President also sets out how the Commission will address the most pressing challenges the European Union is facing

Anchored in the Treaty of Lisbon, the State of the Union address is foreseen in the 2010 Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission, which also foresees that the President sends a letter of intent to the President of the European Parliament and the Presidency of the Council that sets out in detail the actions the Commission intends to take by means of legislation and other initiatives until the end of the following year.

Jean-Claude Juncker, after taking office as President of the European Commission in November 2014, delivered his first State of the Union speech on 9 September 2015.

The events:

14 September 2016 - 9.00 until around 12.00: State of the Union Address 2016 by President Juncker at the European Parliament Plenary Session in Strasbourg, followed by a debate and closing remarks. Hashtag: #SOTEU

14 September 2016 - 2:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.: Press conferences in Strasbourg

15 September 2016 - 11a.m.-12 a.m.: President Juncker answers questions from three YouTube creators: Laetitia from France (Le corps La Maison L'esprit), Jonas Ems from Germany (JONAS) and Łukasz Jakóbiak from Poland (20m2) in cooperation with YouTube, Debating Europe and Euronews. Follow live on EUTube

The sources:

Web page (www.ec.europa.eu/soteu) with all related materials, live streaming and live blogging. The live-blogging tool is available for syndication on the websites of online media (in English, French and German). Contact comm-social-media-team@ec.europa.eu for details.

AGENDA/16/2642