Thread by @NaomiOhReally

In her 2nd annual State of the Union address @vonderleyen is pitching that having asked so much of the young, it's time to build a future for them: carrying through climate action and renewing the economy. To copy the new generation in being 'grounded in values, bold in action'

Proposals so far:
- donate more vaccines globally
- reestablish European dominance in semiconductor manufacturing (there's a shortage and they're needed in all digital products)
- climate: time is up, implementation of commitments now

- companies rely on state spending in education, infrastructure, & must pay their fair share (watch out Ireland)
- political will is the biggest block to defence cooperation. But EU should at least pool intelligence and cyber defences (to cripple state 'all you need is a laptop')

- ALMA programme which would be like Erasmus but work opportunities for young people
On China:
- an EU ban on products made with forced labour
- a rival to China's Belt and Road that would seek 'partnership not domination' by building key infrastructure links with eg Africa

Von der Leyen also called for EU legalisation to ensure media freedom and read out names of murdered European journalists like Peter R de Vries, Ján Kuciak and Daphne Caruana Galizia, describing the media as not just an economic sector but the guarantor of democratic transparency

There's a fair bit of Irish discomfort at the emphasis on defence in her speech - the idea of waiving VAT on purchases of missiles etc is seen as a favour for the arms industry with limited relevance to modern reality of threats.
Defence set to be a major theme until next summer.

"I noticed you never used the B word, Brexit," says Ireland's @SeanKellyMEP in response to VDL's speech. "Perhaps an intelligent omission and a message in itself."
Praises EU Brexit approach and says will lead trade delegation of MEPs to N.Ireland to discuss reality of Protocol.