The war in Europe, the worsening climate crisis, the pressure on liberal democracies and Europe's unresolved position in the global power structure – the European Union is facing historic challenges. In order to maintain its future viability, the EU must become more capable of taking action.
Berlin, April 2024
The war in Europe, the worsening climate crisis, the pressure on liberal democracies and Europe's unresolved position in the global power structure – the European Union is facing historic challenges. In order to maintain its future viability, the EU must become more capable of taking action. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine also shows us that the enlargement and neighbourhood policy is in urgent need of readjustment. However, the enlargement process makes the institutional reform of the EU, which is already needed to strengthen its ability to take action, even more pressing. There is currently no uniform position in the EU on the question of how broadly such a reform should be structured and how it should be implemented. Suggestions and ideas have been put forward, though reservations and concerns have also been expressed. An agreement can only be reached if all sides are listened to and taken seriously. As the largest member state, Germany has a special responsibility in this regard.
Against this backdrop, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has invited experts from various policy areas to provide impetus for the EU reform debate. Based on current challenges, common goals for sustainable policy-making and recommendations for institutional reforms have been formulated. In their entirety, they are intended to better equip the EU to take action, as well as make it more democratic, ecological and socially just. In doing so, we have not limited ourselves to the interaction of the EU institutions in the narrower sense but have also looked at policy areas that are central to the future viability of the EU: European foreign and security policy as well as energy, agricultural, fiscal, and enlargement policy.
The result is a series of policy papers, some of which propose pragmatic approaches, others a change of direction. Many of the recommendations can be achieved without treaty changes. What is needed, above all, is the political will to exploit the existing potential. All texts conclude with the question of how Germany can contribute to the success of the reform process. We hope this will provide impetus for the relevant debate.
Jan Philipp Albrecht, Co-President
Eva van de Rakt, Head of EU and North America Division
Dr. Christine Pütz, Senior Policy Advisor European Union
Heinrich Böll Foundation
