Five days to the State of the Union

Since the 2025 State of the Union address, the Commission has focused on delivering on the promise of Europe's independence. In a more fragmented world, Europe is taking on greater responsibility for its own future. Over the past 12 months, the Commission has accelerated its efforts to boost EU competitiveness and turn Europe into a better place for investment, innovation and growth. We have taken action to reduce dangerous over-dependencies and to strengthen the resilience of European industry against market distortion and global overcapacity. We have diversified trade opportunities through new trade agreements, from the Indo-Pacific to Latin America, and continued to build mutually beneficial relationships with partners around the world. We have worked to protect what matters: our security, our social model, our democracies. The SAFE instrument is driving major defence investment across Europe, and we are working on flagship defence projects such as Eastern Flank Watch. The Commission and the EU also continued our unwavering support for Ukraine, including through the first payments under the €90 billion loan supporting Ukraine, the opening of two accession clusters, and 21 sanctions packages against Russia. Through the European Democracy Shield and our rule-of-law toolbox, we are standing up for our democracy, and with our digital regulatory framework we are protecting and empowering our citizens, especially young people. We have also taken steps to help the most vulnerable households cope with issues such as housing and high energy costs. To sum up this work, the Commission today published a brochure and a timeline of the past year's key milestones.