State of the Union (European Union) foresees that the President of the European Commission sends a letter of intent to the President of the European Parliament and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union that sets out in detail the actions the European Commission intends to take by means of legislation and other initiatives until the end of the following year. The address is then followed by a general debate on political situation of the Union, the so-called State of the Union debate. The first State of the Union speech of the European Union was pronounced on 7 September 2010 by President José Manuel
Referendums related to the European Union Croatia was admitted as a member of the EU, acceding on 1 July 2013. A referendum was held in San Marino on whether the country should submit an application to join the European Union as a full member state. The Unified Patent Court is a proposed court between several EU member states, that, inter alia, is to be constituted for litigation related to the European Union patent. Countries which seek to join the European Union in the future may hold a referendum as part of the accession process. In addition, Article 88-5 of the Constitution of France requires a referendum