Solidarity and Strength: The Future of the European Union

In September 2010, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has convened a Future Commission made up of 50 experts under the title "European Solidarity and Strength". Its mission: to come up with concepts and proposals for action in the five following main fields of European politics that could give cooperation new impetus: European Climate and Energy Policy, European Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, European Agricultural Policy and European Economic, Financial and Social Policy.

Today, the European Union is at a crossroads. On the one hand, the debt crisis has brought to light the need for more cooperation and integration. At the same time, public support for an expanded community that sticks together and is mutually liable for all of its members is waning. Solidarity and Strength of the EU are closely linked in this context: without internal cohesion, there is also no external ability to act. Europe has to prove the capability of the liberal constitutional state, the social market economy and supranational integration to overcome the enormous challenges of our time and thus also promote its model.

Particularly in times when there is growing fatigue for integration, we need a public debate on the outlook for the EU. How far should and can solidarity in Europe go? Which binding rules does a community that stands together in times of crisis need? What political decisions have to be made now to move the EU forward again?

The results of the Future Commission’s one year of work was presented for discussion at the EU Quo vadis conference in Berlin on October 19 and 20, 2011.

 

• Dossier in German

The Final Countdown

June 18, 2012 - Today, we have to remember that hundreds of thousands of Greek workers helped power the post-war German industrial renaissance. Today, millions of Germans are powering Greece’s only “heavy industry” – tourism. In view of the present crisis we will have to understand that the road ahead is a long one – but to jump off a cliff is not a viable shortcut. Dr. Nikos Chrysoloras more»

A Green Europe to Solve the Euro Crisis

- June 15, 2012 - From the euro crisis to a long-term vision: In Southern Europe, there should be immediate investment in solar energy. This would show EU citizens in the north that solidarity can provide them with cheaper renewable energy and citizens in the south would experience that reforms do serve a more integrated, greener, and more just Europe.  Ferdi De Ville more»

Documentation

Conference Report: Solidarity and Strength - The Future of the European Union

- November 28, 2011 - The European Union is at a crossroads. The Heinrich Böll Foundation has invited renowned experts, to formulate concepts and recommendations for the future of the EU. At an international conference in late October, we discussed the first results of the Commission. Torsten Arndt more»

Publication Series on Europe, Volume 6

Solidarity and Strength - The Future of the European Union

This volume is the result of the work of the Commission on the Future of the European Union. The Commission, composed of 60 renowned experts from the worlds of politics, science and civil society, was charged with sketching out future prospects and drafting recommendations for key areas of European policy – areas crucial for giving a new dynamic to European cooperation. Christine Pütz, Bastian Hermisson more»

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Executive summary

Solidarity and strength: The Future of the European Union

- November 8, 2011 - Economic and environmental challenges that threaten to overwhelm the European project. The Heinrich Böll Foundation has set up a commission to examine the future of the EU. This publication puts forward a series of proposals in areas such as foreign and security; agricultural; energy; economics and monetary and enlargement policy. more»

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