Debate on the State of the Union 2016, during the EP plenary session (12-15/09/2016) in Strasbourg. Statements by Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Giovanni PITTELLA (S&amp;D, IT), Syed KAMALL (ECR, UK), Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA, DE), Gabriele ZIMMER (GUE/NGL, DE), and Nigel FARAGE (EFDD, UK),&nbsp; political group leaders.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

WEBER, Manfred (EPP, DE)

PITTELLA, Gianni (S&D, IT)

FARAGE, Nigel (NI, UK)

KAMALL, Syed (ECR, UK)

ZIMMER, Gabriele (GUE/NGL, DE)

state of the Union 2016 (T)

State of the Union 2016: statements by political group leaders

Establishing shot of Manfred WEBER, (EPP, DE)

SOUNDBITE (German), Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Jean-Claude Juncker gave an honest overview of the situation of the European Union, it is not in good shape and to change this we need solutions on each case and no theoretical debates about the future, furthermore concrete proposals on questions such as migrations, the economic situation and the fight against young unemployment, here Jean-Claude Juncker made proposals which are very much appreciated by the EPP group.

SOUNDBITE (English), Giovanni PITTELLA (S&amp;D, IT), I appreciate very much the decision to double the investment plan, I appreciate very much the orientation to apply the flexibility inside the stability pact, to allow the government to invest more money in culture, in security, in job creation.

Establishing shot of Syed KAMALL (ECR, UK)

SOUNDBITE (English), Syed KAMALL (ECR, UK), I had hoped that Mister Juncker in the State of the Union speech would have acknowledged the warning signals that we have seen in many many states. Not just the UK referendum, but also other referendums in other member states. In order to respond to the concerns of many citizens, it just seems to be more of the same, and not only that, but more initiative on top of it, more military integration, more Europe, more spending. And what we need is to take a step back, and say: what is going on in the EU, how do we make sure that we create more security, more jobs and more opportunities for our citizens?

SOUNDBITE (German), Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA, DE), I think that I would believe more in stronger priorities, the list of proposals and ideas is again very long. For example I think it is right to take into consideration the security needs of the people, but I would suggest that before we start to discuss a common defence policy we should actually start doing our homework, to tackle the problems of the external borders and also the problems in our cooperation between the different security units working in the fight against terrorism.

Establishing shot of Gabriele ZIMMER (GUE/NGL, DE)

SOUNDBITE (English), Gabriele ZIMMER (GUE/NGL, DE), Mister Juncker explained that we have 12 months of time; we need to take decisions in this time to lay down the direction for the future of the EU. In my view his proposals have been very reluctant and also incomplete. He had used the expression 'I call ', who is he calling and for which purpose? And by making proposals he stopped always half way, as he would know now already that there will be coming up too big obstacles in the Council.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nigel FARAGE (EFDD, UK), It was a very downbeat, Jean-Claude Juncker, in terms of its term, and style. Basically what he's saying is: don't worry about Brexit, everything is going to be fine, we'll carry on regardless, we'll continue with centralization, and all at the same time, we'll have a European army! And I would just say, I don't think they are really listening, I think that the people in Europe increasingly wants something different.