On 10 September, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will deliver the State of the Union address. The State of the Union address (SOTEU) is the annual speech in which the President of the European Commission sets out her priorities for the Union for the coming year before the European Parliament. […]
2022 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen
A UNION THAT STANDS STRONG TOGETHER INTRODUCTION Madam President, Honourable Members, My fellow Europeans, Never before has this Parliament debated the State of our Union with war raging on European soil. We all remember that fateful morning in late February. Europeans from across our Union woke up dismayed by what they saw. Shaken by the resurgent […]
Music aids language-learning in autistic children
Acknowledging the special role of music in autism, EU researchers designed an effective intervention programme to improve speech in autistic children. Research shows that autistic individuals are more likely to have perfect pitch and prefer music to language, while language delay in autism tends to co-occur with better musical skills. Moreover, neuroimaging studies suggest that […]
Kremlin Hate Speech Incites War Crimes in Ukraine
After years of collecting, analysing and archiving examples of Russian disinformation on the EUvsDisinfo platform, they have come to expect a certain degree of bombast and unpredictability from pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets. Sure, the overall course of disinformation and propaganda is clear, with the same narratives playing out time and time again, like a broken record. […]
Special Address by President von der Leyen at the World Economic Forum
Thank you very much Klaus, Ladies and Gentlemen, Indeed, following your introduction, dear Klaus, it is difficult to believe that in Davos today we are talking about war. Because the Davos spirit is the antithesis of war. It is about forging ties and together finding solutions for the big challenges of the world. You might […]
Speech by Von der Leyen at the European Hydrogen Energy Conference 2022
Your Majesty, Vice Prime Minister Ribera, Dear friends of the Spanish Hydrogen Association and Hydrogen Europe, Distinguished guests, For years, science has been telling us that we must end our reliance on fossil fuels to save our planet. Now the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine has given us yet another reason. That is to secure […]
Speech by President von der Leyen at the EP on the social and economic consequences for the EU of the Russian war in Ukraine
Madam President, dear Roberta, Honourable Members, Next week, we will mark Europe Day. The 72nd birthday of our Union. This Europe Day will be all about the Union of the future – how we make it stronger, more resilient, closer to its people. But the answer to all of these questions, we cannot give alone. […]
Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary on the Russian aggression against Ukraine
“Check against delivery” Madam President, Honourable Members, War has returned to Europe. Almost thirty years after the Balkan Wars, and over half a century after Soviet troops marched into Prague and Budapest, civil defence sirens again went off in the heart of a European capital. Thousands of people fleeing from bombs, camped in underground stations […]