Eurotopics.net

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has delivered her second annual State of the Union address, preparing the public for a new era of intensified international competition and promoting among other things a European defence union. For some observers the speech shone with optimism. Others lament that ultimately the EU Commission's hands are always tied.

In Germany's parliamentary elections on 26 September voters will also decide who succeeds Angela Merkel as chancellor. According to INSA surveys, the SPD - junior partner in the current grand coalition government - is polling at 26 percent, giving it a clear lead against the CDU/CSU (20.5 percent) and the Greens (15 percent). Europe's press looks at what the potential government alliances could mean for the EU - and especially for Brussels' financial policy.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met the President of the Government of Catalonia Pere Aragonès in Barcelona on Wednesday to resume the dialogue on Catalan independence dispute after an 18-month break. However, the only result of the meeting was the announcement that the parties would continue the talks despite their opposing positions. The Junts party, the more radical junior coalition partner of the Catalan separatist government, boycotted the meeting.

Electricity prices have soared in EU countries since the beginning of the year. The electric baseload - the minimum amount of electricity required by the power grid - currently costs more than twice as much on the electricity exchange platforms as it did in the summer of 2020, while natural gas prices have increased ten-fold in the same period. Increased demand in Asia and less input from wind power are among the reasons for the surge in prices.