State of the Union speech 2025 offers several entry points for philanthropy
On 10 September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered the first State of the Union speech of her second term to the European Parliament, outlining the Commission’s aims for the next year.
The address came at a particularly critical time for the Commission President, amid criticism in several capitals and across the bloc on key issues such as the recently concluded EU-US trade deal, widening divisions among Member States over potential retaliatory measures against Israel for breaches of the EU–Israel Association Agreement, political attacks from both far-right and left-wing parties, and overall the continuing challenges posed by the war in Ukraine, the escalating situation in the Middle East and Trump’s general hostility towards the EU.
In her speech, von der Leyen outlined the following:
- On Ukraine, von der Leyen announced plans to turn up the pressure on Russia with a 19th package of sanctions and a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels, among other actions.
- On Gaza, moving away from her previous approach, she announced the Commission’s intention to propose sanctions on extremist ministers and violent settlers, impose a partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters and set up a Palestine Donor Group including a dedicated instrument for Gaza`s reconstruction.
- On competitiveness and the single market, she stressed that a digital euro and the savings and investments union will make it easier for companies and consumers alike. She announced a Single Market Roadmap to 2028, a multi-billion euro “Scaleup Europe Fund” to make major investments in young, fast-growing companies in critical tech areas, and a “Battery Booster” package to boost production in Europe.
- On climate change, von der Leyen reiterated the ambitions proposed in the Green Deal.
- On social issues, she put the emphasis on an upcoming “Affordable Housing Plan”, a “European Anti-Poverty Strategy” and “Quality Jobs Act” and addressed the need to protect democracy and uphold values through initiatives such as the European democracy shield and mentioned the rule of law.
Overall, the speech showed the will to rebalance the Commission`s political agenda, after the past months focus on competitiveness and security at the expense of social initiatives.
Whether the Commission will be able to effectively tackle the most contentious items on the EU’s agenda will depend on the executive`s capacity to implement its announcements. It is evident in the field of environment and climate, where the ambitions of the original Green Deal are being heavily diluted, and rule of law, where no concrete measures have been announced to stop the escalating crisis, particularly in Hungary and Slovakia, and competitiveness where the gap between commitments and implementation continues to raise questions about the Union’s ability to deliver on its stated priorities.
Another possible obstacle to the success of the Commission`s proposed initiatives is represented by the growing divisions between Member States on various key topics, not least the issue of a suspension of the EU-Israel Association agreement.
What is in it for foundations?
The savings and investments union could make it easier for companies and consumers alike, and could positively impact asset allocation and the impact investing approaches of foundations in European markets. The Single Market roadmap should also include foundations and other social economy and non-profit organisations and help them to grow. Foundations should be able to support other social economy actors and start-ups, and national laws should enable that. We have seen positive moves in this regard, with new approaches in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and ongoing discussions in Germany.
Foundations should also be considered as co-investors and attractive tools for partnership should be developed. The multi-billion euro “Scaleup Europe Fund” can provide important entry points in this regard and there is certainly room for foundations to partner and contribute to the climate and social agenda. Some foundations are actively engaging in impact investing around affordable housing and climate economy.
Finally, von der Leyen highlighted the importance of boosting democratic resilience and trust. A key pillar of resilient democracies is a strong, healthy civil society. Without this being explicitly mentioned in her speech, we count on her to deliver a strong EU Civil Society Strategy, as announced earlier this year, and a strong EU budget that also delivers for civil society and the core values we stand for.
Find out more about Philea’s work with civil society partners in the ‘Civil Society State of the Union 2025’ report.
Image credit: European Union, 2025
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