On 11 September 2013, José Manuel Barroso, President of the EC, delivered the State of the Union Address 2013 at the plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg. Exactly five years after the fall of Lehman Brothers, this speech recalled what had been achieved since then. The President pointed out a number of past figures and evolutions that gave Europe good reason to be confident. He highlighted that recovery was within sight for Europe but it was necessary to be vigilant. On this occasion, José Manuel Barroso also delivered an appeal for more European integration in the face of global developments. In times of change and crisis, he noted, hard questions were asked of political institutions across the world. The bottom-line question in the debate going on all over Europe was "Do we want to improve Europe, or give it up?". The President eventually highlighted that the work on deepening the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) remained as valid as ever. #SOTEU