EU plus

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen gave her annual "State of the Union" speech to the European Parliament on Thursday (17 September). The speech was visionary in its scope and ambitious in what it seeks to achieve. But many who are familiar with the Brussels bureaucracy do not think that the system that von der Leyen heads, has the stamina, flexibility or even the will to deliver. Von der Leyen did not mince her words. Her opening statement laid out the vision and the ambition "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' This is how Charles Dickens describes Europe in the days of the French Revolution. And it is also a fair description of the world we live in. The speed of change is incredible. The challenges exceptional. So if I look at Europe today, my take is this: the state of our Union is the strongest it has ever been. The state of our Union can also feel as precarious as it has ever been." Von der Leyen said she would propose a new security forum, A European Security Council, for EU and like-minded leaders in response to escalating Russian hybrid attacks and fraying transatlantic relations, with Canada, Ukraine, Norway, and the U.K. also be invited to join. Putting her point of view to the European Parliament, and being honest about the challenges ahead, was an important challenge. More difficult is the challenge that von der Leyen has, to convince the bureaucracy in the EU instituions in Brussels of the challenges ahead, and of the need to change and adapt to the new realities. This bureaucracy has often failed to deliver. Its too caught in its own labyrinth and comfort zone; has a problem with engaging with both EU citizens and the wider world; lacks the readiness to learn from its own mistakes, partly because of a flawed institutional memory, and is too slow to adjust. Von der Leyen has tried to fix some of these probelms, but with limited success. She needs to try harder! (click image to read the editorial comment in full)

The Armenian news website, news.am, interviewed the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Magdalena Grono. Ms Grono dismissed criticism of her visit, and that of a large number of diplomats and representatives of international organisations, to Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, on 11 - 12 September 2026. Speaking about the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, EUSR Grono said that "Significant challenges remain, not in the least when it comes to dealing with past traumas and suffering and the cases of missing persons, among others. For peace to be genuinely irreversible, legacies of past conflict will need to be addressed by the sides. It is our strong hope that Yerevan and Baku will address these challenges in the framework of their broader reconciliation efforts at the right time. For its part, the EU will continue to support the bilateral peace as much as possible."  (Click the image to read the interview in full)