Articles

More than 400 million people are expected to vote in the European elections on 6-9 June 2024, and decide on the next European Parliament. According to the polls, a shift to the right is expected in many EU countries, with populist, radical far right parties gaining votes and seats across the EU. What impact would this have? We will try to understand how the Europe we know might change in 2024 and foresee how the EU’s policy agenda and the direction of future EU legislation will be affected by it. And in line with this, we will also discuss the potential effects of an isolationist US administration after the November 2024 elections. Gail Rego talks to Roderick Kefferpütz, Director of the European Union office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, and Sophie Pornschlegel, Director of Studies and Development at Europe Jacques Delors.

At the end of the current legislative term, the disagreement within the bloc of 27 EU Member States on many climate and energy issues can hardly be hidden. However, new momentum is urgently needed to cut EU emissions, keep industries competitive and protect prosperity. With our 100% Renewable Energy Action Plan for the next European Commission, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) put forth priority actions for the following legislative term.

When confronted with energy price explosions and the climate crisis, the EU cannot waste time and money on castles in the air. Instead of betting on unproven solutions far from market introduction, such as small modular reactors and the broad deployment of all kinds of carbon removal technologies, the EU should build on what works right now. Renewable energy sources have proven to be by far the most relevant and reliable solution. In our new 100% Renewable Action Plan for the next European Commission, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe) describe what needs to happen after the 2024 European elections to harvest the benefits of renewables.

The new Climate Clarity Hub is a platform that consolidates knowledge and expertise on climate mis|disinformation. Developed by EU DisinfoLab and supported by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, it seeks to confront climate pessimism and call for action, sharing knowledge, analysis, content, resources and anecdotes both from an ecological activism perspective and within the counter-disinformation community.

Timothy Garton Ash is one of the greatest political voices in Europe. In his latest book “Homelands,” he tells the story of how Europe emerged from the ravages of war in 1945, recovered, rebuilt, and moved towards the ideal of a Europe that is “whole, free, and at peace” ‒ until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A conversation with Roderick Kefferpütz about shattered illusions, the war in Ukraine, democratic backsliding, and the fight for freedom.

The European Commission has signed a new agreement with Egypt. One of the aims is to reduce migration to Europe. But this will most likely not succeed.

The 2024 European elections will take place from June 6 to 9 in the shadow of multiple crises. Populist and radical right-wing forces could benefit from this. Projections predict a shift to the right in the next European Parliament. These forces seek to renationalize European politics and weaken the EU‘s ability to act together. Specifically, the European Green Deal and support for Ukraine could be curbed. The EU would be weakened at a time when it has to solve major challenges for the future. In this context, the sixth edition of the long-term study Actually European!? examines how the German population views the European elections and what they expect from their government at the EU level.

The European Parliament made a decisive move on 11 March 2024 to initiate a lawsuit against the European Commission before the European Court of Justice, following the contentious release of €10.2 billion in frozen EU cohesion funds for Hungary. This occurred despite Hungary ceasing to be a democracy and continuing to suffer from systemic corruption and rule of law deficiencies according to experts, multiple indexes and the EP itself. This webinar took place on 20 March 2024, with Márta Pardavi (Hungarian Helsinki Committee), Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) and Prof. Laurent Pech (Sutherland School of Law), moderated by Adéla Jurečková, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague.

The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy was designed to ‘accelerate the transition to a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system’. It sets a range of targets to be met by 2030, underpinned by a mixture of new or revised laws, and non-legislative initiatives. As the current European Commission nears the end of its mandate, this article proposes how the next European Commission, from 2024–2029, should carry forward the goals of the Farm to Fork Strategy, and actions to meet its targets, especially as the EU is currently stalling many of its aspects in light of recent farmer protests.