The Future of the European Union: stagnation, gradual progress or a leap forward?

Foto: Cover photo

Video from the public discussion of April 13, 2015.

On 13 April Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS organised a public discussion on the future of the European Union. The main theme of the discussion – what awaits Europe: stagnation, gradual progress or a leap forward?

The discussion was based on the New Pact for Europe on the future of the EU published by three influential European think tanks – King Baudouin Foundation, Bertelsmann Stiftung and the European Policy Centre. The new concept suggests continuing the current integration process, in the meantime adding more emphasis on smart investments in member state economies, the creation of a fairer network of social support, as well as a greater involvement of citizens in European politics.

Authors of the paper believe that the Energy Union has the potential to become the next great European project that could inspire and unite European citizens.

The discussion was preceded by an overview of the New Pact for Europe by a representative from the European Policy Centre. The new concept was discussed by EU policy experts: Ilze Rūse (European Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Filips Lastovskis (EU affairs journalist for delfi.lv) and Pauls Raudseps (IR magazine). The introduction also includes assessments from other Latvian EU experts.

The discussion between the experts and the public was moderated by PROVIDUS seniour policy analyst Iveta Kažoka. Working language: Latvian with translation to English.

The most important topics of the discussion:

• Where have all the ambitious plans for developing the EU gone? Or – on the contrary – has there been too much ambition?

• Could an Energy Union be the keystone for the future?

• What are the most notable future challenges for the EU?

Video from the discussion (in Latvian):

Video from the discussion (in English):

This activity was supported by the Europe for Citizens program of the European Union.