Anyonefamiliarwith the Brussels bubble and thosewhofollowdevelopmentson EU matters, haveeagerlyawaited the State of the Union Speech, which the President of the EuropeanCommissiondeliveredonWednesday. Wehadgrownaccustomed to seetheseexcercisesas a meansto boaston the achievements made.  This time Juncker did not.  Wasn't there anything worth celebrating? It seems that a sense of reality and humbleness has prevailed within the corridors of the Berlaymont.

The State of the EU speech presented an analysis of issues which, the soon to be 27-Member States, should and must focus on.

I genuinely believe in the benefits of the European Union. One has to remember that it came into being after two consecutive World Wars which devasted Europe and made millions homeless. It was a dream, unimaginableto some, but leaders managed to put aside their national pride and past differences and came together to form what is now the European Union. Ironically, it was British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who had suggested the establishment of the United States of Europe.

The European Union is far from perfect. It's a bureaucratic machine of gigantic proportions. Yet, despite its imperfections, it is beneficial to European citizens.  We might not be the generation that experienced the war period and therefore might not be able to compare the before, during and after.  It's easy for us to take it for granted.  It is only if it ceases to exist that we would tangibly realise what we would have lost. 

We are at a cross roads. With the current state of affairs on both sides of the Atlantic, Europe is feeling the pinch. It can either simply remain a Union of Member States, which in the international arena, often speaks in many individual voices, or it can truly become one voice and a force to be reckoned with. President Juncker, stated that Europe needs to carve out its role on the world stage. Indeed, as President Juncker stated 'a strong and united Europe is what allows its Member States to reach for the stars'.

However, such a scenario would involve getting Europeans onboard. Reality is that never before has the European Union witnessedsuch a sharp rise in Euroscepticism than during theJuncker administration.Citizens have become very vociferous on the issues of security and migration and feel that it is because of the European Union that we are faced with the current situation.

These two matters are a thorn in Europe's side. Unless Europe sorts out the most vital matters for Europeans, it would be much harder for it to sell new concepts to its citizens. It seems that the European Commission is becoming quite aware, admittedly after some battering at the polls in some countries, that action on security and migration is urgently needed.

In fact, the European Commission in its State of the EU, is proposing measures through the Security and Migration packages. The first concerns mostly in targeting terrorist content online. The EU Commission is proposing to remove illegal content online within an hour. The latter package deals with migration directly, proposing an efficient return of migrants' policy, a stronger border and coast guard force and enhancing legal pathways to Europe. Despite, these proposals, it is now up to the Council and Parliament to shape these proposals into legislation. The truth is that such a process hinges on the willingness of Member States to come to an agreement - something which has not happened in the past.

Despite all the negativity, I choose to conclude this pieceon a positive tone, a note of hope of what the future will bring to us Europeans. And I would like to quote President Juncker's conclusion, not because I am an avid supporter of his ideas, but because I truly believe in the European project - 'the trees we plant today must provide shade for our great grand-children whether they hail from East or West, from South or North. To give them all they need to grow and breathe easily'.