Each autumn, the President of the European Commission delivers the State of the Union handle to the European Parliament to share their imaginative and prescient for the EU and announce main upcoming initiatives. In her State of the Union speech on 10 September 2025, Ursula von der Leyen outlined the Commission’s priorities and flagship initiatives for the approaching 12 months. She additionally despatched a Letter of Intent to the President of the European Parliament and to the Prime Minister of Denmark, which at the moment holds the Presidency of the Council, detailing the actions the Commission intends to soak up the next 12 months.
The handle targeted on geopolitical challenges and main themes reminiscent of safety, defence, independence and competitiveness. However, sustainability remained an vital factor. The Commission President positioned important emphasis on the inexperienced transition, notably on the intersection between inexperienced and digital transformation. The speech was additionally marked by a name to “buy European” throughout a variety of sectors reminiscent of clear expertise and meals.
She said within the Letter of Intent that the initiatives talked about within the State of the Union and the Letter of Intent will probably be adopted up by the Commission Work Programme for 2026, interinstitutional dialogue between co-legislators, and the Joint Declaration of Legislative Priorities to be signed by the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Commission Work Programme is predicted in October.
In this submit, we take a look at the important thing sustainability-related matters lined within the 2025 State of the Union.
Green Deal
The Commission President reaffirmed her dedication to the European Green Deal and the EU’s local weather targets, acknowledging the rising risk posed by pure disasters. She famous that the EU is firmly on observe to realize the 2030 goal to chop emissions by no less than 55 per cent. She highlighted the necessity for the EU to remain the course on its local weather and environmental aims.
Climate resilience and adaptation
Ursula von der Leyen noticed that local weather change is making every summer time hotter, harsher and extra harmful. She argued that the EU should step up its efforts on local weather resilience, adaptation and nature-based options.
Whilst these remarks got here in the direction of the tip of her speech – and she or he didn’t suggest particular new initiatives on this space when talking to Parliament – the Letter of Intent referenced a European Climate Adaptation Plan and an Ocean Act with out detailing timing or content material.
The European Climate Adaptation Plan was beforehand introduced by the Commission as a part of the Competitiveness Compass and is deliberate for 2026 (for extra on the Competitiveness Compass and sustainability, see our earlier weblog submit).
The Ocean Act is deliberate by the Commission for 2027. It was introduced within the European Ocean Pact printed in June 2025. The Act will construct on a revision of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, offering a single framework to facilitate implementation of the Pact’s aims whereas lowering administrative burden. It goals to modernise maritime spatial planning by larger cross-sectoral coordination at nationwide degree and to advertise a extra organised sea basin strategy. It is just not clear at current whether or not the Commission intends to expedite this Act.
Industrial Accelerator Act
The Commission will suggest an Industrial Accelerator Act for key strategic sectors and applied sciences. Notably, Ursula von der Leyen dropped the reference to decarbonisation from the Act’s title. According to ENDS Europe (subscription required), a Commission spokesperson mentioned this displays an ambition to advertise digital applied sciences – together with AI and cloud computing – alongside different sectors shaping the world and the longer term within the upcoming legislative proposal.
The Industrial Accelerator Act was additionally introduced within the Competitiveness Compass and is scheduled for This fall 2025. The intention is to speed up administrative procedures and prolong accelerated allowing to extra sectors in transition, reminiscent of energy-intensive industries.
The Commission declined to verify to ENDS whether or not it nonetheless plans to unveil the legislative proposal this 12 months, as initially supposed, or whether or not it should conduct a brand new public session in gentle of the Act’s revised focus.
Battery Booster Package
The Commission President flagged batteries as a key enabler of fresh expertise, notably for electrical automobiles. She introduced a Battery Booster Package: an initiative to take a position EUR 1.8 billion of EU funds in battery manufacturing.
Renewables and European Grids Package
The Commission President famous that, already at the moment, low-carbon sources account for over 70 per cent of the EU’s electrical energy. She emphasised the necessity to generate extra homegrown renewables, with nuclear as a baseload, and to urgently modernise and spend money on infrastructure and interconnectors.
In this context, she proposed a brand new Grids Package to strengthen grid infrastructure and velocity up allowing, in addition to a brand new initiative known as Energy Highways. She talked about eight essential bottlenecks in EU power infrastructure, from the Øresund Strait to the Sicilian Canal. The EU will now work to take away these one after the other, bringing collectively governments and utilities to deal with excellent points.
Circular economic system
Von der Leyen pressured that the EU should guarantee business has entry to the required supplies in Europe, and that the one reply is a really round economic system. The EU wants to maneuver sooner on the Circular Economy Act. This Act – additionally included within the Competitiveness Compass – is predicted in This fall of 2026. It goals to create a single marketplace for waste, secondary and reusable supplies in an effort to increase effectivity and broaden recycling.
Omnibuses
Von der Leyen highlighted ongoing work on a collection of Omnibus packages – together with to scale back sustainability reporting necessities – that will assist minimize administrative burdens for companies by EUR 8 billion per 12 months.
The Commission President additional said within the Letter of Intent that six ‘omnibus’ simplification packages have already been tabled, with extra within the pipeline (for instance, on army mobility or digital) to make it simpler to do enterprise in Europe.
For extra data on the EU’s efforts to simplify current sustainability guidelines, see our EU Omnibus Tracker.