Spotlight on the future of Europe
The European Union is not a rigid formation travelling through time on an autopilot following a pre-determined track. Its long history shows that it is an evolving project; one that is being shaped reflecting the aspirations and values of millions of people and their leaders; one that reflects the way Europeans choose to respond to evolving challenges. Millions of young people have now grown up having experienced only its existence and benefits. However, events and trends of the recent past, such as the 2016 British referendum and the rise of populism, remind us that these benefits should not be taken for granted.
The strategic agenda of the EU for the next 5 years is currently being discussed by EU leaders, taking into account the priorities of citizens expressed through thousands of consultations. At the same time, the European elections are taking place. By voting, you contribute to the decision-making on how Europe will act in the coming years to address your concerns about jobs, business, security, migration and climate change.
Find out more about the discussions and possible scenarios on the future of Europe in this month's newsletter, along with some of the most interesting EU publications on other topics, including research.
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Have your say on the future of Europe
The EU institutions made it a priority to engage with Europeans and discuss the issues that matter to them. Commissioners and other EU officials travelled far and wide across Europe to talk with citizens, who expressed their opinions on a range of issues. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in almost 1 000 citizens' dialogues in town halls, local councils, schools, universities, trade fairs and many other locations across the EU. This publication presents the most frequently raised topics and the key concerns of the EU citizens consulted.
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
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Report - Study
This report presents a snapshot of the way Europeans perceive the EU and its future direction. The first chapter examines citizen's views of the EU's present circumstances – including their opinions about the EU's main assets – and its main challenges. The second chapter focusses on life in the EU – whether Europeans are happy, and whether they have benefited from a number of the EU's achievements. In the final chapter, the focus shifts to Europe's future.
Available in English |
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Reflections and scenarios for the EU27 by 2025
Published in 2017, ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, this paper looked at how Europe would change in the next decade under the influence of several trends. Further, it set out five scenarios, each offering a glimpse into the potential state of the EU by 2025 depending on the choices Europe makes. Thus, it was the starting point for a wide-ranging debate on the future of Europe, which can now inspire the main policy priorities of the next strategic agenda.
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
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More on this topic |
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Citizens' views on current and future EU action — Study
This publication examines the results of the European Parliament Eurobarometer survey 89.2 of 2018 and presents several interesting findings for the EU overall as well as for the individual Member States. There are several policy areas where a majority of respondents find that EU action is appropriate. Moreover, a clear majority of citizens keeps on calling for more Europe in the future in nearly all policy areas tested.
Available in English |
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This publication presents the ideas and priorities of European civil society on the EU's future development. These insights were collected by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) that organised 27 national consultations in the Member States towards this goal with the participation of 1 003 representatives of civil society organisations.
Available in all the official languages of the EU except Irish |
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In 2016 the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, asked the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) — as the voice of EU cities and regions — to submit its recommendations on the future of Europe. Subsequently, the CoR launched its 'Reflecting on Europe' campaign whereby members held local events with citizens in their regions and cities to hear their views. This brochure gives an overview of what citizens said they want in the future of Europe.
Available in English, French and German |
Research and innovation |
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A thematic collection of innovative EU-funded research results. May 2019
The 2019 European elections will possibly be viewed by future historians as a landmark election for the EU due to the extraordinary political context in which they are taking place and the challenges to democracy this involves. This results pack dedicated to elections and democratic participation showcases 11 EU-funded projects contributing to a better understanding of the factors and forces that are right now shaping the scope and future direction of democratic participation.
Available in English
(Individual article also available in French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish on the CORDIS website) |
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The voice of citizens in the European Union
This publication presents the European Parliament: an institution made by you, the citizens of all 28 Member States of the European Union. This is because you elect the 751 Members of the European Parliament. It is thanks to the citizens' votes that these members can pass or amend European legislation with the citizens they represent in mind.
Available in all the official languages of the EU. Also in Catalan. |
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2017 data
This publication explores the emerging societal challenges, analyses trends in a rapidly changing digital world and launches an EU-wide debate on possible future government models. To address this, it adopts a novel approach that combines citizen engagement, foresight and design, while being rooted in recent literature from the field of digital politics and media.
Available in English |
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Policy review
The EU's framework programmes for research and innovation have devoted significant investment towards the study of democracy. This review presents findings from framework-programme projects and in general takes stock of European research on the subject matter. At the same time, it focuses on those areas where there are gaps in our knowledge about the workings of, and present threats to, democracy
Available in English |
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The Citizens' App
If you're a citizen of an EU country, then you're also a European citizen. But what does this mean in practice? By installing the Citizens' App, you'll learn who does what in the EU, how all of this is relevant to your daily life and what challenges the EU faces, many of which will shape your future.
iOS
Android
Available in all the official languages of the EU
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Economics and society - Study
This study analyses current and future global trends in the fields of economics and society, covering the period to 2035. Drawing on and complementing existing literature, it summarises and analyses the findings of relevant future ('foresight') studies. It traces recent changes in the perceived trajectory of already-identified trends and identifies significant new or emerging trends. It also addresses potential policy implications of such trends for the European Union.
Available in English |
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What we got wrong - and why
Foresight is to decision-making what reconnaissance is to warfare: without it, we stumble ahead rather than follow a strategic vision. This is particularly true in today's complex and high-speed world. This brief examines how reflecting on past predictions and assessing how accurate — or not — they proved to be helps to improve foresight capacities. It also shows that mistakes in foresight are not necessarily negative, as long as they are examined to evaluate the reasons why they came about.
Available in English |
Our news |
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EU Datathon 2019 competition — Final conference on 13 June 2019 |
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The EU Datathon 2019 competition will culminate in Brussels on 13 June with the selection of the winner app in each of the three thematic challenges from the 12 teams that have been shortlisted. You can register here to watch the finalists presenting their innovative ideas live and to get to know new people from the open-data community.
To learn more or follow the #EUdatathon competition, organised by the Publications Office of the EU in partnership with the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, please visit: https://publications.europa.eu/eudatathon
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