As 2024 begins, the EU appears to be in the eye of a perfect storm. There is no shortage of potential disruptions awaiting the Union in 2024. Major developments include war in Ukraine and now in the Middle East; a looming economic recession in many Member States; the prospects for enlargement and the opportunities for Treaty reform that will come with it; the prospect of climate- and war-induced migration; the continued rise of populist and anti-European parties in the EU and in the several national elections that will be held during the next year in various Member States, as well as the elections to the European Parliament; the uncertainty linked to US elections; and the need to find a ‘magic formula’ to reconcile Europe’s thirst for competitiveness with equally important considerations such as upholding social rights, the green and digital transitions, and strategic autonomy.
This would all be enough for a decade of research, yet we at CEPS plan to devote attention to all these issues during 2024. As the oldest and largest think tank in Brussels, we feel our share of the responsibility to help Europe and the world weather the storm and find a new pathway to stability and prosperity in the medium term. This is why, in presenting our list of research priorities for next year, we decided to couple individual research projects with ambitious initiatives, entirely new for us, which will boost both the quality and impact of our research going forward.
