Feedback for Junckers' State of the European Union #SOTEU

Yesterday we looked at response to Junckers' address from three European think tanks. Today we study some more feedback generated by the #SOTEU speech at the European Parliament.

JEF

The editors in chief of the webzines of the Young European Federalists (JEF) - Christopher Powers, Hervé Moritz and Marcel Wollscheid - gave president Junckers' State of the European Union address 9 September 2015 positive feedback for honesty and proposals to manage the refugee crisis, while they noted the failures of the member states of the EU (the comments in English, French or German).

New Europe

According to Alexandros Koronakis, of New Europe, Juncker brought sorely missed new elements into his address:

“We need more Europe in our Union, We need more Union in our Union,” Juncker said, early in his speech. The President brought to the European Parliament hemicycle in Strasbourg one thing that was missing even more: More vision, in our union.

Hope and moral legitimacy were the messages Basil A. Coronakis highlighted:

Inspiring, down to earth, human and European, the State of the Union address of President Jean Claude Juncker has opened to worried citizens a slot of hope. Hope that politics, after so many years of absence, will return to Europe and moral order will be eventually restored. The European Union needs that, it needs moral legitimacy.

APCO

Tiernan Kenny, for the APCO consultancy, noted five takeaways from Junckers' #SOTEU address: 1. relocation of refugees and paths to legal migration; 2. the inadequate and conflicting responses of the member states to the refugee crisis; 3. defence of the Schengen border and action to deal with the root causes of people fleeing conflicts, as well as the need for the euro area to speak with one voice in international financial institutions; 4. praise for solidarity shown on the ground by EU citizens; and 5. the need for any new Greek government to stick to its commitments in the eurozone, plus the will of the European Commission to deregulate and to look for a solution to the concerns of the UK government.

Con acento hispano

Jesús González Mateos posted a ringing endorsement of Junckers' address on his Con acento hispano blog, highlighting action to alleviate the hardship encountered by refugees, as well as investment for full employment and means to curb social dumping. We need more Union and more Europe. We must show the world our capacity for unity, honesty and solidarity.

Ralf Grahn