What connects

wildfires, European defence,

online safety and affordable housing?

One speech sets priorities

for all of them:

the State of the European Union,

or SOTEU, for short.

Every September,

the President addresses

the European Parliament:

looking back and setting

the year's priorities ahead.

Let’s take a look at a few

examples from past SOTEU’s.

Every summer, we see

the same worrying images:

forests and villages accross

Europe damaged by wildfires.

In 2022, Europe announced

the plan to double its shared

firefighting capacity.

By 2023, that fleet

had doubled.

Last year, during SOTEU,

the President proposed

a new firefighting hub

in Cyprus to support Europe

and its Mediterranean neighbours.

This year, that hub is up

and running.

Teams are working around

the clock to prevent fires

and to position firefighters

and equipment in advance.

Next, how Europe is preparing

to deter threats

and respond to

new security challenges.

In the 2025

State of the Union address,

the President announced that Europe

would mobilise up to €800 billion

to strengthen its defence

and collective security.

With this,

Europe can invest more together,

close security gaps,

and respond faster

to a changing world.

The goal is clear:

build stronger defence capabilities

and grow Europe's

own defence industry,

creating jobs and economic value

here, on our continent.

But security isn’t only

about what happens

on the ground.

SOTEU also sets priorities

for keeping people safe online.

Last year,

the President announced

a special panel to study

social media's effect

on children and whether stronger,

common rules are needed.

Under the Digital Services Act,

the Commission has already investigated

how major platforms operate.

Two major cases show this:

the investigation into

TikTok's addictive design,

and the investigation

into Meta for failing

to enforce its own age rules.

The Commission is going further.

Working with social media platforms

and experts,

it is now exploring

stronger protections

for children online,

including a possible minimum age

for social media.

So SOTEU does not only

highlight what Europe

is already doing.

It can also reveal where

new action may come next.

And finally, an issue

that affects people in

their everyday lives:

making housing more affordable.

Since 2021, the EU has mobilised

more than €43 billion

for housing investment.

In 2025,

during the State of the Union address,

the President announced

a new plan:

the first European

Affordable Housing Plan.

Its goal is simple:

unlock investment

and make it easier to build

and renovate homes,

by simplifying

planning and permitting.

Housing needs action

at three levels:

European, national and local.

SOTEU shows how these levels

can work together on an issue

that matters most to

people's everyday security.

From disaster response

and defence to online safety

and affordable housing,

SOTEU puts important

issues on the agenda:

not only where Europe

stands today,

but where it wants to go next.

Whatch the State of the European Union

live on our channel

or on EBS.

And stay tuned

for more explainers

on how the EU is working for you.