That's it for our live coverage on von der Leyen's speech. Keep following our coverage on euronews.com for reaction to the speech and more discussion. Watch back the speech in the video player above and read our updates in the blog below.

Six key takeaways from Ursula von der Leyen's speech

Ursula von der Leyen spoke about the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis in her address but also about nature and the importance of democracies.

Here are our six takeaways from her annual address.

More experts' reactions coming in

Concrete global proposals 'lacking' from SOTU: One Campaign

Reactions to the State of the Union are starting to trickle in and The One Campaign, an NGO working to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease, is not satified.

"“Today President von der Leyen set out the priorities for next year, yet concrete global proposals extending past our borders were lacking, failing to acknowledge the impacts of the war on African partners faced with deteriorating food security and climate-related disasters," Acting EU Director Guadalupe de las Casas Escardó, said in a statement. 

"The EU must act decisively before it’s too late to reinforce health systems, strengthen the EU budget and fight the climate emergency," Escardó added. 

The NGO urged the EU to donate €715 million to fight diseases including Aids, malaria and tuberculosis worldwide and to triple its collective climate finance to €75 billion per year to ensure tends of millions of people do not fall into poverty as a result of climate change. 

Von der Leyen replies to the groups' leaders

When she returned to the lectern, the Commission chief said she understands "time is of the essence."

She then turned to The Left's Manon Aubry and conceded that energy bills had become "unbearable" to many but deflected criticism, adding: "Send those bills to Moscow, that’s where they belong."

She urged MEPs to swiftly adopt the RePowerEU package, arguing that it would deliver massive investments for renewables and cross-border projects and said that she would issue "the same plea" to the European Council. 

On the food crisis, she reiterated that the sanctions do not prohibit Russia from exporting food products or fertilisers and that Moscow's claims to the contrary are "lies". 

"We should be very clear in our messaging. Fact is Putin has created the food crisis, Europe and the United Nations are working to put an end to that," she said. 

She also stressed that Europe is a top agri-food producer and exporters and said the bloc is supporting its farmers by allowing them to cultivate any crop in the next farming season. She also noted the EU triggered "for the very first time" a crisis reserve to disburse €500 million to the most affected farmers. 

The Left criticises von der Leyen for not drawing lessons from crises past

Manon Aubry, co-chair of The Left group, opened her time at the lectern brandishing energy bills to emphasise that there are "millions who can no longer cope with the staggering increase in prices" while "dividends of shareholders.
have soared by 29%."

She argued that the economic slowdown is not just down to the war in Ukraine but also "the product of an economic system whose flaws you are now obliged to acknowledge."

She took aim at "super-profits of large multinational companies" and called for increased taxation on all those that have "benefited from the crisis", namechecking luxury and freight companies as well as banks. 

On energy prices, she said a cap on gas should be set on pre-crisis levels.

On climate, she said: "Our planet is burning, people are being told that we need to suspend wifi, but you are still asking us to empty the sea with a spoon. And, at the same time, you insist on importing milk and meat from New Zealand, literally 19,000 kilometres away."

"That is the crux of the problem, Mrs von der Leyen, the crisis is forcing us to change our ways temporarily, but nature will soon return, and it is the same story with the pandemic. You told us that you had learnt your lesson, but you immediately go back to business as usual," she said.

She expressed support for treaty changes but deplored the slowness of the process. 

"We don't have time to wait and put it off until tomorrow. In reality, you are trapped in a broken software and the end-of-life model of a collapsing liberal policy," she told von der Leyen. 

Gas prices cap and decoupling energy prices are needed to address crisis, ECR co-chair says

Raffaele Fitto, chair of parliament’s group of European Conservatives and Reformists called for a cap on gas prices and the decoupling of gas prices from energy prices in general.

“We need to provide full support to the difficult path that we have taken on sanctions. Only sanctions can bring results,” Fitto said.

He said countries like Poland had shown exceptional efforts to help refugees.

“We need to be conscious that unity cannot be achieved by seeking conflict. It has to be true and substantial,” he said.

“The rule of law is important but the debate cannot be contaminated by ideological issues," he added.

ID group leader says Commission proposals 'not remotely sufficient'

Marco Zanni, leader of the right-wing, opened his address by taking aim at his colleagues who criticised the rise of the far-right in Italy as national elections there loom.

He then attacked the Commission's proposals to mitigate the impact of the "dramatic situation" as " not even remotely sufficient to bring concrete help to those who are suffering today through no fault of their own."

A cap on gas prices, he went on, "does not give us hope" because it "still remains aleatory".

Be careful whom you form partnerships with, Greens’ Ska Keller warns Manfred Weber

The president of the Greens group in parliament, Ska Keller, warned not to form partnerships with far-right parties and added that “no money should be given to the governments of Poland and Hungary.”

“Be careful whom you form partnerships with. Looking at Italy, you are playing a risky game with democracy and our shared values, just for power,” Keller told the EPP leader Manfred Weber over his support for a right-wing coalition in Italy.

Keller also said that climate change would be a big political test.

She said the “cost of non-action is immense” and that it was time to “act and to quickly build a brighter, cleaner future.”
 

Renew calls for treaty change

"We were the first to ask for a conference on the future of Europe, with now a revision of our budget and a convention that must follow. I think that the position of my group is clear," Sejourné said. 

Unanimity voting in certain policy areas should be removed, he went on.

"The rule of law, our values must be our compass, what is at stake outside our borders is also at stake inside the European Union, I am thinking in particular of (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban," he said. 

"Corruption and discrimination have exploded in this country, the Hungarian media under control is now broadcasting Russian propaganda."

And the elections are not even fair anymore, I think also of Poland, even if the case is different, but these drifts Mrs. President, must be fought," he continued. 

Renew supports cap on gas prices: Sejourné

The President of the centrist Renew group said he supports the Commission's proposals on energy and that he is "in favour of a European energy shield" to protect citizens and small and medium enterprises, including "putting a ceiling on gas imports". 

EPP leader calls for more 'solidarity' with Ukraine and among member states

Manfred Weber, leader of the European people's Pary kicked off the responses to von der Leyen's address.

He called for solidarity with Ukraine, including "more weapons, more money"

"Putin must lose, Ukraine must win," he said. 

He also urged "solidarity among Europeans" and said his formation supports the proposal of the Commission to tackle soaring energy prices.

"but there is more to do," he said, arguing that markets are "speculating against European solidarity this winter."

He took aim at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron who struck a deal earlier this month to trade off French nuclear power for gas-generated German electricity. 

'Some member states are becoming autocracies,' Garcia Perez says

Iratxe Garcia Perez, head of the group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, said that democracy is "just as fragile as our economy."

"Some member states are becoming autocracies such as Hungary under Orban," she said, adding she was concerned about the rise of the far-right.

'It's not fair' some are profiting from the suffering of families, says Garcia Perez

Iratxe Garcia Perez, head of the group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, said that Europe is facing historic challenges.

"You just have to go to the supermarket to see that the typical shopping basket prices are increasing every day," she said.

"The price of food and energy are increasing with no limit," she added, saying that this was the state of the European Union.

"We have to ensure that we have the political will to implement those solutions."

She said that there is a need to cap gas prices, adding it's not fair that some people can't reach the end of the month while others "are profiting from the suffering of these families."

MEPs are now debating the State of the EU speech. Follow here for live updates.

VDL's support for treaty change among most talked-about themes

The Commission chief finished her address but over on Twitter, her thoughts on the treaties are making waves.

The head of the Brussels office of the Centre for European Reform think tank, Camino Mortera-Martinez, also ranked treaties changes among her hot takes.

Young people’s aspirations should be at the heart of what we do, von der Leyen says, adding it’s time for a European Convention

“Every action that our Union takes should be inspired by a very simple principle. That we should do no harm to our children’s future and that we should leave the world a better place for the next generation.” she said.

She said that solidarity between generations should be enshrined in the treaties to “renew the European promise.”

“And as we are serious about a larger union, we also have to be serious about reform,” she said.

“I believe the moment has arrived for a European Convention,” she announced.

Solidarity to Ukrainian refugees shouldn't be 'an exception': VDL

Von der Leyen is now addressing migration and once more calling for more solidarity.

"Our actions towards Ukrainian refugees must not be an exception," she said, but can be "a blueprint going forward".

She called for a "fair and quick procedures, a system that is crisis-proof and quick to deploy, and a permanent and legally binding mechanism that ensures solidarity."

"I want a Europe where all member states take responsibility for challenges we all share. I want a Europe that shows solidarity to all member states. We have progress on the Pact, we now have the Roadmap. And we now need the political will to move forward and to match," she said. 

VDL pays tribute to former European Parliament President David Sassoli

Ursula von der Leyen paid tribute to former European Parliament President David Sassoli who died in January 2022.

She quoted the former president, stating "Democracy has not gone out of fashion, but it must update itself in order to keep improving people's lives.”

Von der Leyen said Europe should look for "new horizons", which is why she said the Conference on the Future of Europe was so important.

"The Citizens’ Panels that were central to the Conference will now become a regular feature of our democratic life," she said.

'We must also eradicate corruption at home': VDL

The Commission chief has now turned to democracy and rule of law and emphasised that "if we want to be credible when we ask candidate countries to strengthen their democracies, we must also eradicate corruption at home."

She announced that the Commission will present measures to "update our legislative framework for fighting corruption."

"We will raise standards on offences such as illicit enrichment, trafficking in influence and abuse of power, beyond the more classic offences such as bribery. And we will also propose to include corruption in our human rights sanction regime, our new tool to protect our values abroad," she said.

"Today we all see that we must fight for our democracies. Every single day.

"We must protect them both from the external threats they face, and from the vices that corrode them from within. It is my Commission’s duty and most noble role to protect the rule of law," she went on

Our union is not complete without you, VDL says to Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine and Western Balkans

“I want the people of the Western Balkans, of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to know: You are part of our family, your future is in our Union, and our Union is not complete without you,” von der Leyen said.

She said that there is a need to reach out to other countries of Europe, which is why she supports a European Political Community.

Von der Leyen said that there needed to be a rethink of the foreign policy agenda and that democracies needed to be protected.

The way of doing that, she said, was to deepen ties and strengthen democracies on the continent.

Important for EU to 'engage' with other partners through a Political Community: VDL

The EU Commission chief said that tthe EU has now "seen that there is a need to reach out to the countries of Europe – beyond the accession process."

"This is why I support the call for a European Political Community – and we will set out our ideas to the European Council."

She also said that the future fo the EU  "depends on our ability to engage beyond the core of our democratic partners. Countries near and far, share an interest in working with us on the great challenges of this century, such as climate change and digitalisation."

EU to build 'strategic reserves' of rare earths to lower dependencies

Von der Leyen said that rare earth materials including lithium should soon become more valuable than oil and gas today.

"The problem is that at the moment there's only one country that completely controls the world market," she noted.

"A lot of steps must be taken on that front but trade policy comes into question there. We need more partnerships, geographically, these raw materials are not located in just one place on earth," she went on.

This would also allow the EU to promote its values and interests at the global level and should "improve labour and environmental conditions" worldwide. 

"We need new reliable partners where we can mutually grow," she stressed.

"Processing of these metals is just as critical and today China controls the global processing industry Almost 90% of rare earths and 60% of lithium are processed in China," she emphasised.

The EU, she said, will this invest in "strategic process all along the supply chain" and build up "strategic reserves where supply is at risk".

This will be done through a European Critical Raw Material Act. 

Von der Leyen pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

"As we look around at the state of the world today, it can often feel like there is a fading away of what once seemed so permanent and in some ways the passing of Queen Elizabeth II reminded us all of that," she said.

She called her a legend and said that "she always reminded us that our future is built on new ideas and founded on our oldest values."

2023 should be Europe’s year of education and training, VDL says

“The second big topic is the lack of staff for companies,” von der Leyen said.

We need people at all levels and we need to invest more in further education and higher education, she said. We need careful knowledge of what staff are needed, von der Leyen added.

“We need to get qualified staff from abroad that can strengthen Europe’s growth,” she said.

VDL puts fiscal reform back on the agenda

She also stressed that member states are now facer a "new reality of higher public debt" and announced that in October, her team will "come forward with new ideas for our economic governance".

She said member states should have more flexibility on their debt reduction path but stressed that "there should be more accountability on the delivery of what we have agreed on."

Simpler fiscal rules, she also said, should open the door to more strategic investments. 

€700 billion yet to be invested into EU economy: VDL

Von der Leyen is now talking about the economy.

She recalled that only €100 billion of the €800 billion post-COVID recovery package have been disbursed to date.

"This means 700 billion euros still have flown into our economy," she said.

"The future of our children needs both, that we invest in sustainability but also that we invest sustainably," she went on.

'Summer 2022 will remain in people’s memories', von der Leyen says

Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU will invest in a new European hydrogen bank to "guarantee the supply of hydrogen" and "that is how they will build the economy of the future. That is the Green Deal."

"We've all seen to what extent the Green Deal is important. Summer 2022 will remain in people's memoires," she said.

“The situation is much worse than what we can see,” she added, with Europe’s glaciers melting faster than expected and future droughts expected to be more serious.

“We have to work tirelessly to adapt to climate change and make nature our first ally,” Von der Leyen said.

She said at the UN conference on biodiversity, the EU will push for a global agreement on nature.

The EU will also double its firefighting capacity with ten light aircraft and three more helicopters to be able to send more planes to combat forest fires across the bloc.

VDL calls for gas to be decoupled from the price of electricity

According to the president, the current electricity market design "is not fit for purpose anymore, it's not just for consumers anymore."

She said that "consumers should reap the benefits of low cost renewables, that must be the purpose" and that therefore the price of gas should be decoupled from that of electricity.

The EU, she continued, needs a "deep and comprehensive reform of the electricity market."

VDL proposes a new benchmark in gas markets to replace TTF

"Gas markets have changed dramatically. But the benchmark used in the gas market TTF has not adapted," Ursula von der Leyen said.

She added that consumers should “reap the benefits” of lower-cost renewables.

Von der Leyen said they would do a “deep and comprehensive reform of the electricity market”.

VDL proposes cap on the revenues of companies producing electricity at low cost

"Making ends meet is becoming a source of anxiety for millions of businesses and households in the European Union," the Commission chief said.

"Reducing demand during peak hours will make supply last much longer and it will bring prices down," she said.

But she also added that "millions of Europeans need support" and that "a cap on the revenues of companies that produce electricity at low cost" is part fo the solution.

"Profits are ok, they are good," she said, noting however that "it is wrong" to receive "extraordinary" profits that were boosted by war.

"Profit must be shared and channelled to those who need it most," she said. 

€100 million to be allotted to Ukrainian schools

Von der Leyen announced that the EU will donate €100 million for the reconstruction of Ukrainian schools. 

VDL: 'Russia’s industry is in tatters'

According to the Commission chief, the EU has imposed the "toughest sanctions the world has ever seen".

She argued that since the sanctions have been imposed, three-quarters of Russia's banking sectors were cut off from international markets, the production of cars fell by 75% compared to the previous year, and that the Russian army is sourcing semi-conductors from household appliances including dishwashers because they can't buy abroad.

"Russia’s industry is in tatters," she said. 

"Sanctions are here to stay. Time for resolve and not appeasement," she also emphasised.

‘You have given courage to a whole nation’, VDL says to Ukraine’s first lady

Von der Leyen told Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska that “you have given courage to a whole nation.”

She said Europe had stood by Ukraine’s side with the toughest sanctions they’ve seen.

Nearly 1,000 international companies have left the country, she added, saying the country’s industry was in tatters.

“The sanctions are here to stay. This is time for resolve and not for appeasement,” she said.

VDL: 'Much is at stake for EU'

Ursula von der Leyen emphasised that "much is at stake not just for Ukraine but for all of Europe" from the events unfolding in Ukraine. 

"We will be tested by those who want to exploit any kind of division between us and this is not only a war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, it's a war on energy, it's a war on our economy, it’s a war on our values it’s a war on our future," she said. 

EU has 'risen to the occasion on Ukraine war: VDL

The Commission chief started by praising the EU's response to the Russian war in Ukraine.

She said the bloc "neither hid nor hesitated" and "found the courage to do the right thing".

"Our Union as a whole has risen to the occasion," she said.

She continued by saying the EU has gotten better and faster at responding to crises.

"As soon as Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine, our response was united, determined and immediate and I think we can be proud of that," she said.

Von der Leyen said the war in Ukraine was also a "war on our energy, it's a war on our economy, it's a war on our values, it's a war on our future."

MEPs give round of applause to Zelenska

Parliament president Metsola kicked things off by welcoming von der Leyen and Zekenska to the parliament.

"It is also very much a special honour to have Olena Zelenska with us on this important day," she said, triggering a round of applause from MEPs.

Olena Zelenska has arrived in the hemicycle

Prior to the State of the Union, Zelenska also met with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. 

Commissioners proudly wear Ukrainian colours

EU must cap energy prices: Aubry

The co-chair of The Left group in the European Parliament said she is "waiting for concrete answers to inflation, to prices that are exploding."

She said prices for energy and "first necessities" should be capped. 

EU needs a 'winter of solidarity': Weber

The leader of the European People's Party in the European Parliament told EBS minutes before the State of the Union that his group "supports the initiatives of the Commission on energy prices", although he stressed that they also "ask for more."

"People are worried all over Europe and the Ukrainians are fighting a brave fight so we need a winter of solidarity," he added.

He also said he expects the EU needs "to fight for democracy" within its own borders and to "strengthen our own rule of law, our own ideas about democracy and freedom".

Watch the State of the Union address live

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives her annual State of the European Union address on Wednesday.

You can watch our live Euronews coverage in the video player above or at the YouTube link below:

What do Europeans think about the state of their union?

Euronews spoke to several Europeans ahead of the State of the Union address to see what they think about the EU.

From concerns about the energy crisis to a sense that the European Union is more united amid the war in Ukraine, here's what they had to say about the state of their union.
 

State of the Union: What has the Commission done since the last speech and what it plans to unveil

The war in Ukraine derailed the Commission's plans for the past 12 months but it still ticked a few things off its to-do list

COVID-19, rule of law, and defence were some of the areas in which the Commission made strides.

As for what to expect from this year's address beyond sky-rocketing energy prices and the cost of living crisis, experts told us EU enlargement, the new European Political Community and China should all get a mention.

READ MORE HERE.

State of the Union: What's the story behind the EU's keynote speech?

The State of the Union (SOTU), or the State of the European Union, is an annual address used by the president of the European Commission to present the main political priorities, objectives and initiatives of the next legislative year. 

It takes place in mid-September, after MEPs come back from their summer recess.

Watch our video explainer here.

 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will give her third State of the Union address on Wednesday to the European Parliament. Follow our live updates on the speech here.