The European Union is a great success story. For more than six decades, it has generated unprecedented levels of freedom, peace, prosperity, openness, and stability across the continent, proving that we wield far greater influence if we work together, economically and politically. However, today, the hard-won achievements of European integration are taken for granted or are openly questioned, while the wider international conditions that benefitted the Union’s development are fraying. Internal and external centrifugal forces are putting European integration under pressure. The EU cannot afford to stall – muddling through clearly entails the risk of losing relevance in the global context and in the eyes of citizens.
The 24th issue of Challenge Europe delivers an alternative to those who cynically claim that European cooperation no longer works and should be abandoned. It argues instead that integration can still work, and that it is still the best answer to the many problems we are now facing. We want to remind people of the value of European cooperation and offer some suggestions on how we can continue to shape and improve the project now, so that we are better equipped to respond to the underlying political, socio-economic, and cultural insecurities plaguing Europe, and later down the line, to radically rethink the way we organise our societies.
Each of the 24 contributions in this volume, authored by renowned experts and practitioners in their respective fields, presents a set of concrete recommendations for the next EU leadership, both in terms of key priority areas – sustainable prosperity, values, migration and Schengen, and Europe’s place in the world – and on how the EU can use the instruments it already has at its disposal to act in a more effective, transparent, and decisive way.
Challenge Europe is a multi-authored, periodical publication appearing at key moments and dealing with key issues in the EU integration debate. This is the 24th issue.
The support the European Policy Centre receives for its ongoing operations, or specifically for its publications, does not constitute an endorsement of their contents, which reflect the views of the authors only. Supporters and partners cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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