“A mention is a signal, a specific commitment is politically meaningful, a commitment with a deliverable and timetable is the real outcome.”
But whether lobbyists can even get the access that matters is another question.
The Commission president “keeps her cards exceedingly close to her chest in the whole process,” said one former Commission cabinet member, granted anonymity to speak freely. “In the end, von der Leyen writes the whole thing herself — there are literally four people involved,” the person said, adding that the speech is written only in the few days before it’s presented.
Among the few who do enjoy open access to the Commission’s upper echelons — such as chemicals lobby Cefic — the SOTEU is an “important milestone,” but still only “one step in a broader policy cycle,” said a spokesperson for the group. “What ultimately matters is how political priorities are translated into concrete measures and implemented in practice.”
Tech CEOs have also kept a direct line into von der Leyen. Their main lobby group, DigitalEurope, counted a mention of its AI & Tech Declaration in last year’s speech as an “important signal that industry’s voice was being heard,” said Director General Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl.
She also said the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at this year’s event is “a real opportunity to take the EU-Canada partnership to the next level,” with the lobby group keen to act as “a bridge” between Europe and its international partners.