State of the European Union Address to be Delivered

European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her annual State of the European Union Address today.

The yearly address is the third to be delivered by Von der Leyen since becoming the president of the EC. The speech is likely to revolve around preparations for the Winter where the bloc will experience the effects of Russian economic coercion leveraged through the bloc’s dependence on Russia for gas and energy. Von der Leyen is likely to call for unity and continued support for Ukraine through weapons deliveries and economic aid despite higher prices.

Von der Leyen can also be expected to mention short-term measures to soften the impact of high prices as well as longer term plans to shift away from natural gas. While the EU is likely to avoid significant gas supply problems due to its high gas storage levels and imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from non-Russian suppliers, high prices are expected to harm the bloc’s economic competitiveness in the near to medium-term. In the long-term, the EU is attempting to regain this competitiveness by reducing its overall need for gas through the rollout of renewable energy and replacement of gas-based heating systems.