Making the EU Happen

Daniel Kaddik | 3rd August 2021 | Brussels
european union

Daniel Kaddik, Executive Director of the European Liberal Forum, argues for a concrete European roadmap for action addressing all the complexities of modern challenges facing the continent.

This article is the first of a series of eight introducing the Liberal White Book: Europe 2030, the European Liberal Forum's flagship publication highlighting the challenges that the EU faces and presenting a range of future policy options.  What is the European Union? What should it be? These questions are not only controversial, they also lack clear answers. Without these, the EU has evolved without ever following a grand design. As such, it has become an organisation that is constantly shifting in response to ever-changing challenges. Origins The Union began as a post-war project aiming to keep national aggressions and egoisms in check by integrating European economies. 70 years – and several crises – later, the EU of today includes almost the entirety of Europe and influences all aspects of European political life - from trade to social issues, foreign affairs to digitalisation, and health to space exploration. Crucially, EU policymakers now set the all-encompassing agenda and over...

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