Dear President von der Leyen,
The forthcoming parliamentary debate on the State of the Union will address our collective ability to live up to an unprecedented set of international and internal challenges. These challenges are coalescing into an existential moment for the world and for the European Union. This will require a more assertive and confident Union matching its economic weight with equal political weight on the global stage, and a European Commission capable of showing strong and inspiring leadership.
Now more than at any time since its inception, our Union must remain a beacon of hope, protecting and strengthening its leading role as a rules- and rights-based global actor in an increasingly ruthless and unpredictable world. As a new world order emerges in which Europe must position itself, one thing is clear: upholding international law, including the law of the sea, is an absolute minimum. We cannot allow backsliding into a multipolar world based on extortion, in which the strong dominate the weak. The EU should urgently take the lead in consistently putting international law as the core principle in all its external policies, from Gaza and Ukraine to trade with the US, China and the rest of the world, and it must remain a staunch defender of the United Nations.
More than ever, our Union must provide security and wellbeing for its inhabitants by defending and promoting an inspiring model of society built on peace, social justice, solidarity and democracy.
The next State of the Union debate must send a powerful message to our citizens. At a time of profound economic and technological changes, of war and destruction so close to our Eastern and Southern borders, of grave internal and external attacks on democracy and human rights, of increasingly disruptive climate change, and of deteriorating living and working conditions for millions of Europeans, the European Union and your Commission have a historic responsibility.
We call on you to send a powerful message of security, solidarity and sustainability, through a set of game-changing external and internal policy initiatives for 2026.
Read the full letter here
