WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In his 2013 State of the Union address to the European Parliament, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso set out his vision for the European Union in the year to come.

He recalled the EU's determined response to the global financial crisis and what has been achieved since then, noting that Europe has good reason to be confident. "For Europe, recovery is within sight," President Barroso said, but warned that Europe must continue to reform. "This should push us to keep up our efforts. We owe it to those for whom the recovery is not yet within reach, to those who do not yet profit from positive developments," he said. "What we can and must do, first and foremost, let's be concrete, is delivering the banking union."

President Barroso also appealed for more European integration in the face of global developments: "In our world of geo-economic and geopolitical tectonic changes, I believe that only together, as the European Union, we can give our citizens what they aspire: that our values, our interests, our prosperity are protected and promoted in the age of globalization."

"Our job is not finished. It is in its decisive phase," President Barroso said, highlighting that there is a lot still to achieve before next year's European Parliament elections. "Next year, in 2014, I hope Europe will be walking out of the crisis towards a Europe that is more united, stronger and open." 

http://www.euintheus.org/press-media/president-barroso-delivers-state-of-union-address/

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/soteu2013/

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States

RELATED LINKShttp://www.eurunion.org