September 14th, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his State of the Union address before the Members of Parliament in Strasbourg: ‘towards a better Europe, a Europe that protects, empowers and defends’.
President Juncker presented the priorities for this upcoming year and outlined how the European Union will deal with the major challenges Europe is currently facing. The State of the Union had a strong focus on public safety and security.
Some of the key messages related to public safety and security were:
Terrorism: "Just as we have stood shoulder to shoulder in grief, so must we stand united in our response."
"In face of the worst of humanity we have to stay true to our values, to ourselves. And what we are is democratic societies, plural societies, open and tolerant. But that tolerance cannot come at the price of our security."
Security: "We will defend our borders with the new European Border and Coast Guard. I want to see at least 200 extra border guards and 50 extra vehicles deployed at the Bulgarian external borders as of October."
Read more about the State of the Union and its key messages here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3042_en.htm