Future EU Archives

We should never forget that democracy is not just about voting: citizens also want their voices heard between elections, write Roger Casale and Verena Ringler.

Nationalist parties all across the EU have long been feeding off the Union’s lack of democracy and are bound to jump on the way the new leaders of EU institutions are elected to reinforce their message, Louis Drounau warns.

The European Council should take the result of the European elections seriously and ensure that the EU's goals and budget are future-oriented, with a particular emphasis on sustainability and environment, write Dr Raphael Weyland and Konstantin Kreiser.

Despite securing a place among the very few European leaders with a landslide victory under their belt in the EU election, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is not celebrating, write Balázs Jarábik and Dániel Bartha.

It's time for the EU to make the changes demanded by voters at May's European elections, and make the bloc fit to meet the challenges of today's world, writes Sophie In't Veld.

It would be wise to accept that the Spitzenkandidaten system is broken and to look for a democratic replacement, writes Dick Roche, bringing up as arguments nuggets of vintage EU politics.

Hungary is now caught in an anti-migration and xenophobic discourse as the society did not have the chance to learn or prepare enough, and now it seems almost impossible to change this situation, writes Marcell Lörincz.

If the EU is to regain trust and achieve a renewed social contract, the most progressive response to the climate crisis must be at the core of its new mission, writes Martin Porter.

What happens after the European elections will determine the future of Europe. The next European Commission must support a new European Social Contract, writes Udo Bullmann.

An EU budget aligned to the goals of the Paris Agreement, the fulfilment of climate neutrality and the swift decarbonisation of the European economy is a win-win situation for both net payers and recipients to the EU budget, argue Markus Trilling and Raphaël Hanoteaux.

Investors are clear, as global leaders in addressing climate change, it is vital for the EU to send strong, long-term signals about how it will fulfil – and indeed, step up – its commitment to meeting the goals of the …

On 22 January 2019, in Aachen, Germany and France renewed their vows for enhanced cooperation among the two countries. This signature came 56 years after the first treaty that had been signed in Elysée, writes Ilona Raugze.

To stay within the boundaries of the Paris Agreement, Europe needs to accelerate efforts to achieve a carbon neutral future and put climate change at the top of the EU agenda. Frank van der Vloed highlights five key steps that are critical for businesses to make the transition.

The EU must counter poisonous populism with a rEUnaissance delivering a new economic and social contract and hope to European citizens, writes Luca Jahier.

The next EU budget is a golden chance to put our continent on the right path for the long term, write socialist EU affairs ministers.

EU leaders must prioritise climate action to combat dangerous climate change when they gather in Sibiu for the 'Future of Europe' summit on 9 May, write the plaintiffs of the People's Climate Case, who are taking the EU institutions to court to protect their fundamental rights and to prevent dangerous climate change.

The EU’s tropism towards business and technology comes at the price of neglecting its most precious realm: Europe’s public sphere, the precondition of its very existence, write Pieter Boeder, Christiane Lötsch and Péter Techet.

The perspective that the Union is a project is holding us back. The Union simply needs to be pragmatic, writes Žiga Turk.

Europe is about democracy. We cherish democracy in our national institutions by ensuring a healthy separation of powers, by fighting for free and fair elections, and by combining the rule of the majority with the protection of the minority, write Louis Drounau and Andrew Duff.

If mainstream political groups do not collectively expel their bad apples it could spell an end to measures by the EU to protect democracy in its member countries, write Jean Morijn and Israel Butler.

Despite some gains in recent elections, women remain heavily under-represented in politics - at all levels. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s examine the evidence and identify potential avenues for future action, writes Stefano Bonaccini.

Who can contradict President Emmanuel Macron's call for a European Renaissance? Europe has achieved so much in 60 years of peace, but we cannot take it for granted any longer and must do the utmost to preserve it, writes Luca Jahier.

Women and girls in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe live in danger. This is what a new survey published by the OSCE just ahead of this International Women’s Day tells us, says OSCE's Thomas Greminger upon publication of the new report.