News archive - EU Parliament: President Barroso delivered the fourth "State of the Union Address"
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso delivered the State of the Union address at the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg, today. The speech started at 9am. It was followed by a debate in the Parliament later the morning.
This could be his last state of the union speech after nine years at the helm of the EU executive. The speech could be followed live at: http://ec.europa.eu/soteu2013. It is also available here
Background
The 'State of the Union' speech, largely modelled on the US president's annual address to Congress, is a recent initiative by Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The first such speech was delivered in 2010 in a chaotic atmosphere, after suggestions that MEPs be forced to attend.
The main focus of the 2011 State of the Union's speech was the need to raise new sources of finance, including "project bonds", to fund EU infrastructure.
In the 2012 address Barroso passionately pleaded for launching a wide-ranging public debate for a major transformation of the European Union into a "federation of nation states".
Source: Euractive live coverage
- Europe
- General
Entry created by Desiree Pecarz on September 11, 2013
Modified on September 12, 2013
