Von der Leyen to set out challenges and opportunities for EU in ‘state of the Union’ speech – Europe live

European Commission president sets out opportunities and challenges facing the European Union It’s also worth noting that this year’s SOTU will see a special guests in attendance: Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney. He will listen to von der Leyen’s speech as Canada seeks closer ties with the EU – particularly on defence, digital regulation and trade - amid growing tensions with and outright repeated threats from US president Donald Trump.