European Policy

For more than half a century, the European Union's agricultural policy has focussed primarily on increasing agricultural productivity and the cost-effective production of food. This policy paper provides recommendations for action that are largely possible without amending the EU treaties.

The EU needs a resolute and coherent common European foreign policy to strengthen its political weight worldwide.The recommendations for action in this paper are to be understood primarily as a call to Member States to make better use of the existing scope for action within the EU treaties.

This policy paper makes some suggestions as to how reforms could be possible with and without treaty changes and how the EU can preserve its future viability.

The European Union faces the enormous challenge of having to achieve the necessary climate targets it has set itself, while at the same time increasing industrial competitiveness and ensuring public services of general interest. A sustainable European financial architecture based on three pillars is needed to finance these green-social investments at EU level. It is presented in this policy paper.

Well-designed energy bills are a key tool for consumers in the energy transition. The analysis “‘Clean’ Energy Bills for all citizens in the EU; a subject to an examination” aims at registering the content, structure, and format of the electricity bills in EU27, and examine their contribution to consumers’ empowerment to play an active role in the clean energy transition.

A clear majority of Germans wish for both an active and a cooperative German presence in the EU. Our study examines the actual outlook of German citizens as well as citizens’ reported priorities for the  German Presidency of the Council of the EU.