One Europe, One Market: four priorities for the 2026 State of the Union

Europe is facing a transformed strategic environment, with security, competitiveness, energy, technology and the green and digital transitions placing growing demands on its capacity to act.

Against this backdrop, completing the Single Market is not simply an economic objective. A more integrated European market is a structural condition for greater security, resilience, prosperity and strategic autonomy – and for Europe’s ability to invest, innovate and respond to crises together.

Ahead of the 2026 State of the Union address, the Jacques Delors Friends of Europe Foundation sets out four priorities for delivering the One Europe, One Market Roadmap. The paper calls for sustained political leadership across the EU institutions, stronger political and social consensus in member states, and a clearer hierarchy of priorities to maintain momentum and deliver reform.

It identifies four areas for particular political attention: finance, energy, industrial transformation and digital technology, and social cohesion.

The message is clear: Europe needs to connect the completion of the Single Market to the challenges shaping the political agenda today, while ensuring that long-term structural reform is not repeatedly displaced by crisis response.