On 14 September 2022, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her 2022 State of the Union address (SOTEU) to the European Parliament, presenting the achievements of the past year and the priorities for the year ahead.
In her address, Ms von der Leyen outlined flagship initiatives which the European Commission plans to undertake in the coming year. Many of them are made in response to recommendations from citizens collected through the Conference of the Future of Europe.
The initiatives among others include:
Continuing to strongly support Ukraine and its people, including by mobilising the full power of the EU's Single Market
Putting in place measures to support Europeans weather the energy crisis
Supporting the business environment, particularly small and medium enterprises, to strengthen Europe's future competitiveness
Cutting the EU's dependency on Russian fossil fuels, and working closely with reliable suppliers
Investing further in renewable energy with a particular focus on hydrogen
Leading globally on climate adaptation and protecting our nature
Continuing to stand up for democracy, at home and across the world, and for the rule of law
As further initiatives, the European Commission announced the upcoming legislative Proposal on the digitalisation of travel documents and the facilitation of travel, which will be of great interest for eu-LISA taking into consideration the Agency's intensive work on
EES and
ETIAS.
The President also addressed Home Affairs, stating that solidarity is still missing in the EU migration debate and that actions aimed at Ukrainian refugees should not be an exception. The EU needs a migration system that is crisis proof and quick to deploy, and a permanent and legally binding mechanism that ensures solidarity. It should be supported by effective controls at EU external borders for a Europe that manages migration with dignity and respect. She then referred to the New Pact on Migration and progress there calling for the political will to move forward. As
Eurodac is one of the main operational responsibilities of eu-LISA, the Agency closely monitors the debate on the Pact and supports co-legislators with its technical expertise whenever required.
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