European Parliament
Strasbourg

British Conservative Syed Kammall, who leads the ECR group - and supported Brexit - tells MEPs that the "voices of discontent" reach "far beyond the English Channel". 

He says in his group they fear, however, that  "Project Europe has been set to cruise control".

He criticises Juncker's speech for simply delivering the "same mantra" that has been delivered "year after year", and says the "legitimate concerns" of voters cannot be dismissed.

He also calls for an end the "grand coalition" between the centre-right EPP and centre-left S&D groups in the European Parliament, which says leads to decisions being made "by five men". 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

The leader of the Socialist and Democrat group, Italian MEP Gianni Pitella, is up next - and says he welcomes the lack of reference in Mr Juncker's speech to the need for austerity. 

He criticises the UK government for the time it is taking before triggering Article 50 talks, accusing Prime Minister Theresa May of "holding the Union in checkmate". 

He adds: 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Mr Juncker brings his speech to a close, and German Christian democrat MEP Manfred Weber, who leads the centre-right EPP group, is the first to respond.

He says that the EU is "the hope for a better future" for the continent's youth, which is instinctively more pro-European and  "wants to shape a common future".

He suggests that the EU should finance interrail tickets for young people. 

He says that boosting exports, including "saying yes" to a draft EU-Canada trade deal that is still to be ratified, should be the response to lower youth unemployment. 

He calls for strong ties with Turkey, but says it should not be offered "full membership" of the EU. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Mr Juncker continues, telling MEPs that the EU's soft power is not "not sufficient in a world that is ever more dangerous".

He calls for a "European minister for foreign affairs", who would "bring together national diplomatic forces" to give weight to the EU's position during international negotiations. 

The bloc, he says, should "work towards a common military force", including by setting up a European defence research fund to finance joint research into military equipment. 

Such defence integration, he adds, "doesn't mean less transatlantic solidarity". 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

President Juncker says he hopes Slovakia - which is currently chairing the EU's rotating presidency - is able to "bridge" divergences between member states on the issue of migration. 

He renews his belief in the Commission's plan to promote the "fair sharing" of asylum seekers across EU states.

He also announces plans to launch an EU "solidarity corps" of young volunteers to respond to crises such as migration and earthquakes. 

He says he would like to see the scheme set up as soon as possible, with 100,000 people taking part by 2020. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Mr Juncker says the EU's flagship investment plan, external - which he launched at the end of 2014 - has "worked better than anyone expected".

The scheme works by using a certain amount from the EU budget and money raised by the European Investment Bank to stimulate financing for infrastructure projects and loans for businesses.

He announces plans to double the plan's "financial capacity", eventually taking it to €630bn by 2022. 

He adds that the Commission plans to "take it global" by using the fund's model to boost investment in projects in Africa. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Jean-Claude Juncker continues his speech with pledges to respect European privacy laws and strengthen the EU's trade defence instruments. 

He tells MEPs that the plan for further EU integration outlined last year, known as the five presidents report, external, is still an ambition the Commission "is still sticking to".

He also announced plans to reform EU telecoms rules and proposals to create "fully deployed 5G" internet access across the bloc by 2025.

Such changes, he adds, will "create a further two million jobs in the European Union".  

European Parliament
Strasbourg

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Mr Juncker repeats his view that formal Brexit talks should begin "as soon as possible", and tells MEPs that "unlimited access" to the EU's internal requires accepting  "free access to persons and goods".

He adds, however, that although the Commission "respects and regrets" the UK's decision, relations with Britain must continue "on a friendly basis".

Responding to the charge that the vote could herald the "disintegration" of the bloc itself, he adds:  

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Jean-Claude Juncker begins his speech by telling MEPs, in a reprise of a line in his speech last year, that the EU "still does not have enough union".

He says that the Commission "does not intend to destroy the nation-state", but that the EU itself cannot be "colourless". 

"We do not destroy, we do not undermine, we want to construct", he adds. 

European Parliament
Strasbourg

The speech, first delivered in 2010, is based loosely on the “State of the Union” speech the US President traditionally gives to Congress every year.

It is seen as providing the Commission President with a chance to state the political objectives of the EU executive for the immediate future.

Jean-Claude Juncker’s speech last year weighed in at around 10,000 words and took well over an hour to deliver – with a number of interruptions due to heckling.

The speech focused most heavily on the debt crisis in Greece and the EU response to the worsening migration crisis, both of which had both dominated headlines over the summer.

Mr Juncker also used the speech to announce a two-year scheme to redistribute 120,000 asylum seekers from struggling frontline states using binding quotas.

The scheme was later approved, despite an unsuccessful attempt from some central and eastern European states to block it, but has so far relocated only a tiny fraction, external of the numbers promised. 

Image source, European Parliament

European Parliament
Strasbourg

Hello and welcome to coverage of this plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Things will be getting underway shortly, when Jean-Claude Juncker is due to deliver his annual “state of the union” speech to MEPs – his second as EU Commission President.

Reports in the media have suggested that he will use the speech to announce a relaxation of the EU rules on debt and deficits, which have been heavily criticised in some member states.

He will also reportedly announce plans to beef up EU co-operation on military matters, including deploying existing EU “battlegroups” and promoting shared investment in military equipment.

According to the Guardian, external, he will also announce plans to increase the scale of the EU's flagship investment plan, and mount a defence of the principle of free trade. 

Following the speech, the leaders of the Parliament’s eight political groups will then get their chance to respond.