Future of Europe

The most urgent issues facing the European Union following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are energy independence, defense and fighting inflation, according to a representative survey of German citizens. During this "Zeitenwende”, watershed moment, they expect Germany to play a more active role in the EU.

Rasmus Andresen is the new spokesperson of the German Green delegation (Europagruppe Grüne) in the European Parliament. The Director of our European Union office, Eva van de Rakt, talked to him about the opportunities opened up at EU level by the Green participation in the German coalition government.

Franziska Brantner MdB talks about her hopes that the new German government will reframe its European policy. Its priorities in this process should be the European Green Deal, defending the rule of law and bolstering the EU’s capacity to act.

In her 2021 State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appealed to Europe’s soul, which, she said, has been tested to the core in times of multiple crises. The team of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union did its own soul-searching, pointing at the good, the not-so-good and the missing in von der Leyen’s speech.

1 July 2021 has seen a change in immigration status for millions of EU nationals resident in the UK as the “Settled Status” takes effect. What faces those who have not applied and what can we learn from a digital-only system? What can be taken forward to the Conference on the Future of Europe?

In an interview, Dr. Franziska Brantner MdB comments on the results of the “Actually European!? Citizen expectations of the next German government’s EU policy” study and makes the case for greater German engagement in the fields of climate protection, tax policy and ensuring the rule of law.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Europe's economy, health systems and democracy is enormous. In terms of European policy, it will now be important to shape the economic construction in Europe in a socially and ecologically sustainable way. Municipalities are now seen as the new bearers of hope in this endeavour and initiatives at the local level are already making a difference in many areas and are seen as potential drivers of the socio-ecological transformation. The focus of this years’ Annual European Conference is thus put on the local dimension of the European Green Deal. 

The EU is undeniably crying out for fundamental reforms. The Conference on the Future of Europe, launching on 9 May 2021, is meant to create the first-ever genuine public space between European citizens of all Member States and enable encounters beyond national frameworks. Unlikely to deliver major reform plans, though, this platform still has the potential to provide important impulses to crucial issues for Europe’s future.