EU and autumn files

A quick mid-year review is needed to understand the strategic files that exist on the 2023 agenda.

 

The subject of EU enlargement must be analyzed as a fundamental project of the next ten years. It is desired to strengthen stability on the European continent by including the countries that vibrate to the European project in the European Union. There are basically two clear geographical horizons. Ukraine and Moldova can officially open accession negotiations at the end of the year. A parallel process is taking place in the Balkans, even countries like Serbia or Kosovo are expected to join the European federation. Gradually, the security narrative is becoming more and more important to the European Union. The solution is a complete and prosperous European society. A form of responsible regional relations, materialized through an expanded European Union, is also a response to the lack of world governance adapted to this century.

 

European defense is developing on the basis of the EU-NATO binomial. If until now NATO ensured security, and the EU was responsible for economic prosperity, the two structures and concepts now overlap in some cases. It is a very dynamic file, and the coming months will surely bring many clarifications.

 

The prosperity of the European space needs a bold new political project. After the internal market 30 years ago and the adoption of the euro as common currency in 1999, we foresee the third European leapfrog. A common budget of the countries that make up the euro zone seems like an integrative solution that would give a lot of strength to a synchronized European economy. The following months will give signals about such a project, and the steps of Commissioner Thierry Breton are well worth following to understand the European economy of 2030.

 

Even if it is not said openly, we are already in the electoral campaign for the European elections in June 2024. The congresses of the European political parties in the fall of 2023 will clarify the priorities of the 2024-2029 agenda, but they will also outline the main electoral locomotives. The congress of the European People's Party is particularly worth watching, where the dispute between Manfred Weber and Ursula von der Leyen gives a lot of color to European politics.

 

The next few months are also interesting in terms of national elections in Spain and Poland. There may be major changes in terms of representation for the European Council which will decide in July 2024 the future president of the European Commission.

 

The grouping of Eurosceptic or even anti-European forces is gaining momentum, and pro-European parties have a lot to structure and communicate to convince citizens that the European Union has a future. The coming months will set the tone for these messages to better anticipate the outcome of next year's European Parliament elections.

 

European society is discovering the impact of the "ChatGPT revolution". Just as the Internet or even Google searches were the information benchmarks in their time, we are now witnessing a fundamental transformation of information. The impact is enormous at the level of European politics, and over the coming months we will certainly confirm this hypothesis.

 

Dan LUCA / Brussels