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What is the State of the Union?

Easy-read version: This version uses simple language and definitions to make the information easier to understand.

Every year, the President1 of the European Commission2 gives an important speech. The name of the speech is the State of the Union. The President gives the speech in the European Parliament3. All Members of the European Parliament4 listen to the speech. The people of the European Union5 vote for the Members of the European Parliament.

What is the speech about?

  1. The President talks about the past year.
  2. The President says what is important for the European Union now.
  3. The President tells about new plans. 

The European Commission calls these new plans initiatives6.

The European Commission will work on these initiatives next year. 

The European Commission also has a bigger plan. 

The bigger plan lasts 5 years. 

The initiatives are part of the bigger plan.

Why does the President give the speech?

  • The President leads the European Commission.
  • Only the European Commission can suggest new laws and plans.
  • These are laws for the whole European Union.

What happens after the speech?

After the speech, the Members of the European Parliament talk about the plans.

  • They can ask for changes.
  • They can say what they want. 

The Council of the European Union7 also says what it thinks about the plans. The European Commission listens to the Members of the European Parliament.

The European Commission also listens to the Council of the European Union. 

The European Commission uses their ideas. 

Everyone can see how the European Union makes its decisions. 

Then the European Commission writes its Work Programme. 

The Work Programme is a list. 

The list has the new laws and plans for next year.

  1. The President leads the European Commission. The President gives the State of the Union speech every year.
  2. The European Commission is a group of people. They suggest new laws and plans for the European Union.
  3. The European Parliament is a group of people. The people of the European Union vote for them. They decide on new laws.
  4. Members of the European Parliament are the people in the European Parliament. The people of the European Union vote for them.
  5. The European Union is a group of 27 countries in Europe. These countries work together. They make some laws together.
  6. An initiative is a new plan or a new idea for a law. The European Commission wants to work on it.
  7. The Council of the European Union is a meeting. The governments of the countries of the European Union meet there. The Council decides on new laws together with the European Parliament.