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Climate and artificial intelligence are set to feature prominently in Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address, according to two officials.
Bjoern Seibert, the European Commission president's powerful head of cabinet, discussed the likely themes of the speech with the other 26 commissioners’ chiefs of staff at their traditional post-summer meeting on Friday, held this year in Jodoigne, Wallonia.
The gathering included a session dedicated to the Commission president's Sept. 16 address, which is currently being drafted, where cabinet heads pitched Seibert their departments' priorities for inclusion in the speech.
During Friday's discussion with the cabinet chiefs, Seibert linked the expected focus on climate to the damage caused by floods and wildfires over the summer, according to the two officials, who were briefed on the gathering. They were granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
