In the summer of next year, the mandate of the current elected members of the European institutions will end, and the 2024 elections for the European Parliament are already a topic on the political agenda in the capitals of the EU member states.
The European mandate that began in the summer of
2019 was mostly in the shadow of major
global and European crises. Against this background, the entire European agenda
was constantly revised, and EU leaders
tried more to react to difficult situations than to advance a strategic agenda.
Eurosceptic forces have grown considerably in
several member states, now acting even more coordinated at European level. With
the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU, the
Franco-German engine had to reaffirm its options as a leader in European
construction, a fact constantly reflected in the approaches of the European
Union. Due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the issue of Europe's security
has been very prominent on the European
public agenda. Peace and stability in Europe, which for so many years
contributed to its economic growth and constituted a true brand of the European
integration process, were strongly and seriously disturbed. Quick and efficient
responses were needed, which developed the administrative and political
capacity of the European Union.
The thoughts of European citizens are not only
directed towards the present states and experiences, but also towards the
future, wondering what will happen in the next period. Of course, the election
of the MEPs is important, but the real experts
are
more interested in the new European
Commission. Paradoxically, possible transformations of the institutional and
decision-making structure in the EU concern leaders and political groups more
widely, while citizens are more interested in the future European political
agenda after 2024, and how European policies
will affect their individual and community life.
The EU member countries, the business sector, the
academic world, but also civil society, are
already looking at deciphering the narrative of the next stage of
evolution. Of course, if everything goes according to the European electoral
program, it would be possible that in September 2024 the priorities of the
future President of the European Commission will be
officially presented. This will be the moment to receive extensive information on the options for European
policies that would be supported politically and financially, revealing the
strategic path of the European Union. After the publication of the main actions, we will go into detail to identify the proposals
for changes for each European sectoral policy
and which qualities would be required
by the General Directorates of the European Commission with implementation
attributions, but also the adaptations that they will have to realize at the level of administrative capacities of the member states.
Many
questions that came from the reality of the life of European citizens make it
clear that there is a need for a realistic
macro-European program developed together with the beneficiaries, the citizens,
be they businesspeople or organized civil society. The traumatic experience of
the recent Conference on the future of Europe does not strengthen confidence in
European leadership. It was rather a step towards ideologising the concepts,
but it did not bring the clarifications and solutions expected by those who
strongly believe in the continuous improvement of the European project. Perhaps
during
the upcoming European electoral campaign
fragments of the conclusions of the Conference will be selected in order to
present to the citizens a consistent vision, to which Europe will vibrate!
Unfortunately, over the last two decades the European leaders in
Brussels, most often under the pressure of the individualized interests of a
member state, have gradually replaced the community method and continuous
European negotiations with corporate governance, and in recent years with the
method of the balance of power in the process European decision-maker.
Politicians and policy makers signaled that they sensed citizen and civil
society organizations' grievances, that no European public message would be
supported without seeking the opinion and advice of all stakeholders, including
industries and social partners. Environmental policies, for example, have
economic consequences with a huge impact on companies and social life in member
states. With globalization reshaping and competition from emerging countries growing stronger, Europe's long-term economic prosperity
will depend on the strength of its industrial and social base.
However, it is still a sensitive topic, little
addressed, sometimes even avoided by the political-decision-making circles in
Brussels. We are living a moment of European impasse, and the need for European
leaders, with vision and capacity for rational political management, is more needed than ever, both at the level of the European
institutions and the member states!
Dan LUCA / Brussels
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