Publications Archive

In the aftermath of Prime Minister Michel Barnier's general policy speech, the new government's ambition to strengthen France's influence within the European Union is clearer than ever, despite its fragility.

As France struggles to break its political deadlock, confusion also reigns over its ability to continue to assert its European vision in order to influence policies in Brussels.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has presented guidelines for her second term of office 2024-2029. She wants to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and promote sustainable innovation. The Centre for European Policy (cep) advises more concrete measures through prioritisation and smart regulation.

Ursula von der Leyen was very explicit when, during the Eurovision debate 2024 among the Spitzenkandidaten for the presidency of the Commission, she said that she was only willing to work with politicians who guaranteed three conditions: 'to be pro-European, pro-Ukraine - and therefore anti-Putin - and to be in favour of the rule of law'. 

In the last European elections in Italy, the three parties of the current governing majority were able to retain many of their outgoing MEPs. The opposition parties will be represented by a significant percentage of the newly elected MEPs, while two liberal lists failed to reach the 4% threshold and will have no seats.

France faces a difficult choice on June 30 and July 7. At this stage, the polls do not indicate that the presidential majority camp is in a position to win. On the contrary, the Rassemblement National (RN) and its ally, Éric Ciotti's LR, are best placed to win a relative or even absolute majority. Behind them, the Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) - a left-wing or even far-left alliance - is also well positioned and could spring a surprise. Against this backdrop, it's worth imagining the impact of the policies potentially implemented by these two governments, one extreme right-wing, the other left-wing or even extreme left-wing.

The European elections have deeply shaken the EU, especially Germany and France. While the "Ampel" party in Germany suffered massive losses, Emmanuel Macron even called new elections in France. Two serious government crises in the largest member states are plunging the EU into a political survival crisis. This is the result of an election analysis by the Centre for European Policy Network (cep).

The EU needs a more robust economy and a more effective decision-making process to withstand geopolitical and geo-economic competition from the US and China, experts say. But according to a study by the Centre for European Policy Network (cep), this does not require changes to the EU treaties.

The EU is at risk of falling behind in core innovative sectors such as automotive, pharmaceuticals and aerospace. Not enough progress is being made in future technologies such as AI. The Centre for European Policy Network (cep) presents its ideas for an economic overhaul of Europe.

In der gemeinsamen Veranstaltungsreihe von Europäischer Bewegung Deutschland e.V. (EBD) und Table.Briefings im Vorfeld der Europawahl 2024 wollen wir mit den Spitzenvertretern und Spitzenvertreterinnen vieler Parteien gemeinsam mit Expertinnen und Experten in den Dialog treten.