Future EU Archives

The Conference on the Future of Europe should not be a PR exercise but a genuine people’s convention to deliberate all the tough issues we face together and to hear what citizens expect from Europe, argues Hans van Baalen.

The EU needs democratic rebalancing. Veto powers have given the EU multiple Achilles heels that have been exploited by the likes of China, Russia and Silicon Valley. But the signals coming ahead of the Conference on the Future of Europe are not promising, writes Sophie in 't Veld.

The Portuguese presidency of the Council and the European Commission today indicated that it wants citizens to start participating in the Conference on the Future of Europe now, even before the formal launch planned for 9 May.

The EPP lacks diversity and vision regarding the Conference on the Future of Europe and unless it rethinks its role in European politics, it will gravitate towards the Left, writes László Trócsányi.

The departure of Hungarian Prime Minister’s Fidesz party from the EU centre-right family has opened the Pandora’s Box in the European Parliament and whetted conservatives’ appetite to reshape the political scene.

This International Women’s Day takes place roughly one year after the start of the coronavirus pandemic. On 5 March last year we adopted the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy for this mandate with a number of measures aimed at ensuring that women are free, can lead and thrive on an equal basis to men, writes Helena Dalli.

Trouble is brewing in Renew Europe, the third-largest group in the European Parliament, pitting the old 'liberals and democrats' of ALDE against the group leadership and the French delegation of Emmanuel Macron's party, according to an insider source in the centrist group.

The European Parliament’s leaders endorsed on Thursday (4 March) the blueprint for the much anticipated Conference on the Future of Europe, a day after national governments also backed it. The Conference, which aims to reform the European Union and bring it “closer” to its citizens, is set to start its work on 9 May, Europe Day.

Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has left the European People’s Party. Or the EPP has kicked out bad-boy Orbán. Both narratives are true, choose the one you like. Today we will dwell on the consequences.

After years of disagreements, Fidesz's exit from the European People Party’s (EPP) group in the European Parliament was a step long overdue. The question remains, however, where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's puszta populism will find its new shelter.

Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party is leaving the European People Party's (EPP) faction in the European Parliament, the Hungarian prime minister announced on Wednesday (3 March), after years of disagreements with the conservative group, which was preparing to vote on their expulsion.

The European Union's Conference on the Future of Europe could this week finally get the green light, when member states and the European Parliament give their verdict on the joint declaration negotiated under the aegis of Portugal's presidency of the Council of the EU.

It's been nearly twenty years since Giscard d'Estaing's European Convention drew up a Constitutional Treaty that eventually became the Lisbon Treaty. Now, after a decade of muddling through, an assessment of what the EU’s role should be, how it should …

Europe's biggest political group, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), has declined to comment on a letter of support Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn sent to Italy’s nationalist party Brothers of Italy, member of another political family, where he cites their shared "Christian and conservative values".

EU summits are like a regular medical check-up for our union. Expert eyes can immediately see how good its health is. One very good measurement is EU leaders’ ability to decide.

Within less than 12 months, the coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the travelling patterns of Europeans.

Crises boost EU integration: an unprecedented budget, common bonds, border guards in EU uniforms. But EU parliamentary democracy is lagging far behind and the European Parliament should defend democratic oversight. If it shies away from using its powers, it will lose them, writes Sophie in ‘t Veld.

The newly forged Franco-Baltic friendship stands as an addition to the multilateral security and cooperation structures and does not mean the Baltics are trading Brussels for Paris just yet, but their revamped cooperation, particularly on cybersecurity and disinformation, is set to continue, writes Monika Bickauskaite.

EU member states gave the 'green light' on Wednesday (3 February) to the format proposed by the Portuguese presidency for the Conference on the Future of Europe, which is due to start next May, European sources told Lusa.pt.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has developed an unhealthy habit of avoiding press questions in public and carefully dosing her words to European media, while being seemingly omnipresent in a selected few, mostly German, publications. After refusing to take …

There can be no return to business as usual after the pandemic and no amount of economic pressure should force us to compromise on people’s health and the health of our planet, Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said in an interview.

From climate hazards and COVID-19 to protests for racial justice and the rise of identity politics - the past year has left a mark on the young generation. The effects of the pandemic particularly affect young people, they exacerbate existing inequalities …

European democracy is in urgent need of reinventing itself. Under threat by polarization and disinformation, deliberative democracy could help bring back power to the people, from the hyperlocal to the international political field, write Pepijn Kennis and Samuel Doveri Vesterbye.

As soon as the EU has a new set of leaders, it stages its traditional extravaganza in the form of a big conference to discuss the 'Future of Europe'. Every 10 years, there is a new one. Contrary to its original …