State_of_the_Union_(European_Union) | TriviaQuestions.online

⭐ In the context of the President of the European Commission, the State of the Union address primarily serves as a platform to…

The President of the European Commission uses the annual State of the Union address to present the Commission’s plans and objectives for the upcoming year, effectively setting the EU’s legislative direction.

⭐ Core Definition: State of the Union (European Union)

The State of the Union address, also known as the State of the European Union or SOTEU, is the annual speech addressed by the President of the European Commission to the European Parliament plenary session in September. The State of the Union address of the European Union was instituted by the Lisbon Treaty (with the 2010 Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission - Annex IV(5)), in order to make political life of the Union more democratic and transparent than it previously had been.

The Framework Agreement thus also foresees that the President of the European Commission sends a letter of intent to the President of the European Parliament and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union that sets out in detail the actions the European Commission intends to take by means of legislation and other initiatives until the end of the following year. The address is then followed by a plenary debate on the political situation of the Union, the so-called State of the Union debate.

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👉 State of the Union (European Union) in the context of President of the European Commission

The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president of the Commission leads a cabinet of commissioners, referred to as the College. The president is empowered to allocate portfolios among, reshuffle, or dismiss commissioners as necessary. The college directs the commission's civil service, sets the policy agenda and determines the legislative proposals it produces. The Commission is the only body that can propose, or draft, bills to become EU laws.

The Commission president also represents the EU abroad, together with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The post was established in 1958. Each new president is nominated by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament, for a five-year term. The president of the Commission also delivers an annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament.

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