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The State of the Union (European University Institute)

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Not to be confused with State of the Union (European Union).
The State of the Union
Formation2011
FounderEuropean University Institute
TypeConference
HeadquartersFlorence and Fiesole, Italy
Official language
English
Websitehttps://stateoftheunion.eui.eu/

The State of the Union (SOU) is an annual conference on European affairs, organized by the European University Institute (EUI), in Florence, Italy,[1] since 2011. The event serves as a platform for debate on key issues related to the European Union and brings together political leaders, policy-makers, and experts from EU institutions.[2]

Each year's conference[3] is shaped by an annually rotating Scientific Committee composed of scholars from the EUI, who design the thematic focus in response to contemporary challenges facing the EU.[4]Typically held around May 9th, coinciding with the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration.[5], the event underscores the evolution of European integration.[6]

History

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The first conference took place in 2011 as the central event of the Festival d'Europa (Festival of Europe),[7] an annual festival organized in May in Florence. Subsequently, the European University Institute brought the event in-house.[8]

Format

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Salone dei Cinquecento in Florence's town hall during the State of the Union

The event typically lasts three days. The venues change annually, with the EUI's hilltop campus locations in Fiesole and Palazzo Vecchio being the most used.

The first day normally takes place at the Badia Fiesolana, the EUI's hilltop premises in Fiesole, and its program features an array of parallel sessions and fringe events. The second day is held at Palazzo Vecchio. It features discussions, panels, and interviews. The third day is an Open Day held at the Historical Archives of the European Union, housed at Villa Salviati at the EUI.[9] During Open Day, there are educational talks about the European Project and its cultural and historical heritage. There are also guided tours, exhibitions, tastings, and leisure events.[10]

Past editions

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Early editions

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The inaugural edition (9–10 May) held at Palazzo Vecchio explored political and economic issues of the EU.[11] Across four panels, discussions centred around the reforms of the Treaty of Lisbon and employment and financial stability after the 2007–2008 financial crisis.[12]

The second edition (9–10 May) explored the challenges of climate change, economic governance and EU energy policy at the time of the global recession and the European sovereign debt crisis.[13]

The third edition (9 May) sought to integrate the opinions of European citizens through luminaries from academia, business and the news media, including the Financial Times and Le Monde.[14] Sessions explored the future of EU citizenship and free movement.[15]

2014–2018

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2014's edition (7–9 May) centred around the future of the social and political model for Europe and the upcoming European Parliament elections.[16] The event also promoted awareness about the activity of the European Union as news agencies televised the live Spitzenkandidaten debate in which José Bové, Jean-Claude Juncker, Martin Schulz, and Guy Verhofstadt faced each other for a debate in the contest for the Presidency of the European Commission.[17] The programme of the 2015 edition (6–9 May) was composed of 13 panels that discussed Europe's need for a new narrative or Schuman Declaration.[18][19]

The 2016 edition (5–7 May) brought a gendered perspective to an array of policy areas.[20][21] The State of the Union countered the trend of female underrepresentation at high-level conferences, with women's voices making up 66% of the 92 speakers,[22] the highest number of speakers in a single edition to date, and 62% of the Scientific Committee.[23]

The 2017 edition (4–6 May) mainly focused on the meaning of European citizenship in the 21st century in the context of Brexit.[24][25][26] Topics discussed also included direct democracy, the impact of the global refugee emergency on Europe, and state secrecy and security in Europe.[27] Jean-Claude Juncker, then president of the European Commission, sparked controversy by saying that the English language is "losing importance".[28] The 2018 edition (10–12 May) consisted of 14 sessions which dealt with the theme of European solidarity.[29] The development of the Fringe Events programme has been started.[30]

2019–present

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With the European elections just weeks away from the conference, democracy was the central theme chosen for the 2019 edition.[31] Speakers debated and discussed the challenges of democracy in areas such as the European elections, disinformation and fake news, the democratic legitimacy of immigration policies, and Global Governance trends to 2030.[32] The highlight of the conference was the debate amongst the then Spitzenkandidaten for the position of President of the European Commission.[33]

The special edition of SOU took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.[34][35][36] The online event focused on public health, the economy, and global cooperation.[37] The conference was supported by a YouGov international public opinion survey on topics relating to the impact of the pandemic on various social issues.[38] The EUI created a podcast series for the first time containing key takeaways from the panel debates.[39]

On 6 and 7 May, the State of the Union celebrated its 10th anniversary. The event took place at the Badia Fiesolana, with selected sessions happening on stage in the EUI's production studio. The theme of the conference is "Europe in a Changing World". It has eight key topics: artificial intelligence, climate, geopolitics, global economy, multilateralism, peace and human rights, public health and strategic autonomy. The programme included 44 sessions in 3 parallel streams. There were over 161 speakers. The programme also included 11 fringe events organised by the State of the Union's partners and internal and external stakeholders.

Titled "A Europe Fit for the Next Generation?", the 12th edition of The State of the Union was held on 5–7 May and counted 135 speakers, 43 sessions, five overarching streams, and 40 hours of recordings. The 13th edition of the State of the Union was held on May 4–5, 2023, and brought together more than 700 in-person participants and over 10,000 individuals via live stream. Under the theme "Building Europe in times of uncertainty", this conference featured over 130 speakers and hosted more than 35 sessions. The concluding events included SOU4YOU at Palazzo Vecchio, attended by over 600 European citizens, and an Open Day at Villa Salviati on May 6, which has over 2,500 visitors. The 14th edition of the State of the Union, held on May 23–24, 2024, gathered over 850 in-person participants. It has an audience of more than 11,000 individuals via live stream. The 14th State of the Union conference brought over 150 speakers from 35 nations. The State of the Union 2024 was held in Florence pre-June 2024 elections of the European Parliament.

References

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  1. ^ (2011). May 2011. Florence, capital of Europe Comparing Europe at Palazzo Vecchio Festival d'Europa. Retrieved 10 March 2021
  2. ^ (2017). State of the Union 2017 conference by the European University Institute: Building a people's Europe European Union Newsroom. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  3. ^ "The 2019 EUI State of the Union will take place in Florence, 2-4 May 2019 (RSCAS, EUI, Italy)". Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  4. ^ "SOU Past Editions: 2019. About".
  5. ^ (2012). The State of the Union 2012 edition to take place on 9-10 May 2012 Istituto di Ricerche per la Pubblica Amministrazione (IRPA). Retrieved 17 March 2021
  6. ^ Kevin Manley (2013). Florence is ‘capital of Europe’ The Florentine. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  7. ^ (2011). May 2011. Florence, capital of Europe Comparing Europe at Palazzo Vecchio Festival d'Europa. Retrieved 10 March 2021
  8. ^ "SOU Past Editions: 2012". 11 October 2012.
  9. ^ (2019). Open Day at Villa Salviati The Florentine. Retrieved 10 March 2021
  10. ^ "SOU Open Day 2018 - Historical Archives of the European Union". YouTube. 11 July 2018.
  11. ^ "SOU Past Editions: 2011". 27 March 2012.
  12. ^ "SOU Past Editions: 2011. Summary". 12 February 2015.
  13. ^ (2012). The State of the Union 2012 edition to take place on 9-10 May 2012 Istituto di Ricerche per la Pubblica Amministrazione (IRPA). Retrieved 17 March 2021
  14. ^ Kevin Manley (2013). Florence is ‘capital of Europe’ The Florentine. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  15. ^ Kevin Manley (2013). Florence is ‘capital of Europe’ The Florentine. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  16. ^ Marco Bastiani (2014). The State of The Union: Live Streaming and Twitting #SOU2014 Florence Daily News. Retrieved 9 March 2021
  17. ^ "SoU2014 - EU Elections - Presidential Debate". YouTube. European University Institute. 15 May 2014.
  18. ^ (2015). A Firenze "The State of the Union". Tra i relatori Napolitano, Prodi e Amato Rai News. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  19. ^ (2015). Efus at the upcoming “State of the Union” conference on Europe European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS). Retrieved 17 March 2021
  20. ^ "The State of the Union 2016: "Women in Europe and the World"". Indireinforma. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  21. ^ Editorial Staff (2016). The State of the Union Conference Sixth Edition Florence Daily News. Retrieved 10 March 2021
  22. ^ The State of the Union 2016: Programme (PDF). Florence: European University Institute. 2016.
  23. ^ "SOU Past Editions: 2016. Scientific Committee". 26 February 2015.
  24. ^ (2017). State of The Union 2017 Studio Riprese Firenze. Retrieved 17 March 2021
  25. ^ (2017). The State of the Union conference European Investment Bank. Retrieved 17 March 2021
  26. ^ (2017). The Latest: Merkel vows fair, constructive Brexit talks Fox News. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  27. ^ (2017). State of the Union 2017 conference by the European University Institute: Building a people's Europe European Union Newsroom. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  28. ^ "Jean-Claude Juncker: 'English is losing importance'". POLITICO. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  29. ^ (2018). "The State of the Union 2018" conference, Florence EU Monitor. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  30. ^ SOU 2018 Final Report (PDF). Florence: European University Institute. 2018. p. 5.
  31. ^ "The 2019 EUI State of the Union will take place in Florence, 2-4 May 2019 (RSCAS, EUI, Italy)". Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA). 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  32. ^ "SOU Past Editions: 2019. Programme".
  33. ^ David M. Herszenhorn(2019). Frenzy in Firenze: 4 takeaways from EU lead candidate debate Politico. Retrieved 10 March 2021
  34. ^ (2020). European leaders at The State of the Union Conference Stamp Toscana. Retrieved 17 March 2021
  35. ^ (2020). The State of the Union Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Retrieved 15 March 2021
  36. ^ (2020). A caring society is the blueprint for ensuring our Union emerges from the current crisis stronger, more united and with greater solidarity than ever European Council. Retrieved 17 March 2021
  37. ^ "Istituto Universitario Europeo, The State of the Union in modalità on line". Affaritaliani.it. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  38. ^ SOU 2020 Final Report (PDF). Florence: European University Institute. 2020. p. 6.
  39. ^ (2020). European University Inst. Soundcloud. Retrieved 17 March 2021
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