European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen delivered her State of the Union speech at the European Parliament on 10 September, announcing a series of policies that will impact co-ops in the EU and beyond.
The speech, which came shortly after Poland had shot down Russian drones in its airspace, included a loan aid and bonuses for states that support Ukraine along with an ‘Eastern Flank Watch’ programme to improve real-time surveillance of EU countries bordering Russia. Other key foreign policy proposals included steps to bring future member states such as Moldova and western Balkan states closer to the EU, and a partial suspension of trade aspects of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and bilateral support with Israel in response to the famine in Gaza.
Regarding competitiveness and innovation, von der Leyen’s proposals included a multi-billion Scale-up Europe Fund to make large-scale investments in young, fast-growing tech companies, which could benefit tech co-ops, including platform co-ops.
European co-ops, especially in green sectors, could also take advantage of the Made in Europe criteria in public procurement, which forms part of the EU’s new Clean Industrial Deal.
And Von der Leyen mentioned the EU’s Circular Economy Act, due for adoption in 2026, which aims to establish a single market for secondary raw materials, increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials and stimulate demand for these materials in the EU.
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“We need to generate more homegrown renewables”, she said, but added that nuclear must form “a baseload”, and the EU needs to “urgently modernise” and invest in its infrastructure and interconnectors. To this end, she announced two new initiatives: a new Grids Package to strengthen the EU’s grid infrastructure and an Energy Highway to remove eight critical infrastructure bottlenecks.
Von der Leyen also highlighted the need to ensure a just transition for all, mentioning the EU’s Social Climate Fund which will give member states dedicated funding to directly support vulnerable groups such as households in energy or transport poverty.
On housing, von der Leyen admitted the EU faced a social crisis fuelled by soaring prices and and a reduction in building permits. The Commission will launch a European Affordable Housing plan this year, she said, to make initiatives such as student housing construction easier, and convene a European housing summit.
With farmers protesting the EU-Mercosur deal and the proposed changes to the allocation of funding under the CAP, von Der Leyen tried to reassure the sector. She said the implementation of unfair trading practices legislation will be reviewed and action taken where needed. She also announced a Buy European food campaign to support EU producers.
She also defended the recent EU-US trade deal on the grounds that exceptions had been secured – the deal has been contested by co-op apexes Copa and Cogeca, Cooperatives Europe and REScoop.eu.
Prior to the speech, Cooperatives Europe published an open letter to von der Leyen, calling on the Commission to: ensure EU competition and business policies reflect all business models, including co-ops; adapt finance, public procurement and state aid to better reach SMEs and co-ops, enabling them to scale up and compete; and guarantee protected minimum allocations for social economy actors in EU funds, including Cohesion Policy and the European Social Fund, and maintain strong social conditionalities.
Responding to the speech, RESCoop.eu, the the European federation of energy communities, welcomed the ‘Made in EU’ criteria for public procurement, the new electricity grids package and the upcoming European Housing conference. However, it criticised the lack of focus on citizen initiatives and the social economy and lack of climate ambition.
“Today von der Leyen emphasised that a new Europe must emerge. In the face of external threats, we urge Europe to put citizens and democratic principles at the centre,” said Ilonka Marselis, REScoop’eu’s vice president.
Copa and Cogeca, the voice of European farmers and their co-ops, also responded to the speech.
“As EU agriculture stands at a political tipping point, one could have expected more than incantatory words and a token measure on promoting ‘Made in Europe,” they said. Copa and Cogeca said the speech lacked concrete commitments, clarification and vision regarding the agricultural sector.
“Agriculture — crucial for Europe’s food and energy security — was barely mentioned, tucked away at the end of a key section of her speech. Yet another sign that agriculture is no longer regarded by von der Leyen’s Commission as a core sector, but relegated to the second tier of the Union’s priorities, treated as a bargaining chip in trade disputes.
“In the end, hope came from the significant number of references made by MEPs who, unlike the Commission, have not forgotten the promises made to farmers in 2024 before and during the EU elections. In the weeks and months ahead, the European Parliament will have to take a stand on all these Commission initiatives. Europe’s farming communities are counting on their support to restore vision and perspective,” they added.
Meanwhile, Cecop, the European confederation of industrial and service cooperatives, warned that “stability within the EU cannot be only about (re)arming Europe and investing in defence” and called for “meaningful, quality jobs, democratic participation in decision-making, access to affordable services, twin transition for enterprises and protecting social rights.”
Cecop also welcomed the Commission’s efforts to design a Quality Jobs Act.
“It is imperative that co-operatives play a key role in this, as enterprises experienced in providing quality, meaningful, and empowering jobs. CECOP urges the EU to recognise and promote worker-owned co-operatives as a model for quality employment by removing legal and financial barriers, supporting training, and enabling workers’ buyouts of companies. We call for a robust EU Quality Jobs Roadmap with clear indicators, coherence with existing social policies, social conditionality in public funding, and greater promotion of co-operative education and governance,” said the apex.
Responding to the Anti-Poverty Strategy and packages on affordability and the cost of living announced by von der Leyen, Cecop called on the Commission to target essential services and social services of general interest, and of which, it added, co-operatives are important providers.
Another proposal welcomed by Cecop was the inclusion a fifth freedom, on top of the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital: knowledge and innovation. However, Cecop urged the Commission to explicitly include education in it.
“To increase our competitiveness, we need to close the skills gap in strategic sectors. Investing in knowledge, research, training, and education is essential,” said Giuseppe Guerini, the president of CECOP. “Co-operatives improve if they improve people. Co-operatives, guided by the co-operative principles ‘education, training, and information’, are characterised by lifelong learning, thus enabling workers to quickly respond to changes. Now is the time to act – not only in principle but via coherent actions,” he added.
As to the revision of the EU Public Procurement Directive, Cecop pointed out that the only mention it received in the speech was regarding the “Made in Europe” criteria.
“The aim of public procurement should be to ensure that jobs and profits remain in the EU, and we urge the Commission to take into account the vital effort of co-operatives that work hard on ensuring that wealth is retained within the local community,” it argued.
Furthermore, Cecop criticised the omission of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) from the speech, arguing this should remain high on the EU agenda.
“Commission President von der Leyen mentioned democracy multiple times. In light of the weakening of democratic values and the erosion of the rule of law across the EU, it is necessary to keep this on the agenda. In order to protect democracy, it is imperative to strengthen civic education and partner up with co-operatives whose inherent democratic nature can significantly contribute to safeguarding democracy in society as a whole,” it concluded.
Cooperatives Europe, the voice of co-operative enterprises in Europe, pointed out that of the seven priorities of the von der Leyen II Commission continued directly from the six priorities of her first mandate, pointing to what it described as “a sudden change of tack at the time was in fact a refocus on Europe’s competitiveness and industries.”
The apex welcomed the effort to support startups and scale-ups and calls for this new Fund to support fast-growing companies beyond just tech innovation but argued the social chapter of the SOTEU address was lacking.
“We regret that the social economy was merely mentioned, with the focus shifted to related initiatives such as the Quality Jobs Act, the housing agenda, and a brief mention of the Circular Economy Act. Another missing element of the speech was budgetary matters, a topic that is expected to dominate discussions for the next two years. The President of the Commission made no mention of adequate measures or dedicated funding to maintain strong social and cohesion policies in Europe. In a previous article, Cooperatives Europe warned against the unintended negative consequences of the proposed reorganisation of the next long-term budget (MFF): mega-funds, loss of specific earmarks, and uncertainty regarding funding allocations for social priorities.
“This State of the Union address marks only the beginning of this new year. The next milestone will be the publication of the Commission’s 2026 work programme in October, which should include a clear timeline,” concluded Cooperatives Europe.
