DossierThe road to the 2024 European Parliament electionsInsights from the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's offices and partners on the 2024 European Parliament elections, the next EU legislative term, and the "super election" year 2024 ✅🗳️🇪🇺 Greens in the EU election: down in the West, up in the East, South and North Analysis 2019 was an extraordinary election year for the European Green Party, and it was clear from the beginning of the 2024 campaign that it would be tough to match it again this year. While the Greens lost seats overall, most of the losses were concentrated in Germany and Western Europe, while the bloc was able to pick up new seats in the South and East. By Tobias Gerhard Schminke European Parliament elections: climate policies will suffer Analysis Europe went to the polls over four days, from 6 to 9 June, to choose a new European Parliament (EP), the EU’s main legislative body of the 27-member bloc. The turnout was healthy – slightly less than the highest-ever participation in 2019 – but the results could well constitute a blow for the bloc’s climate protection efforts. There are 720 seats in total, of which 361 seats are needed for a majority. By Paul Hockenos Europe on the Ballot: Who will rule the EU? Analysis The chances of a conservative majority after the European elections are slim, but the normalisation of radical-right forces is a wake-up call for progressives. By Filipe Henriques The European Parliament Elections Will Serve as a Litmus Test for the Fight Against Disinformation Analysis The upcoming European Parliament elections are set to be a critical test in the fight against disinformation. With new regulations and AI challenges, how will Europe ensure election integrity? By Drew Mitnick and Zora Siebert Advancing gender equality: What perspective for the next EU legislative cycle? Analysis With the European Parliament elections taking place between on 6-9 June 2024, the European Union stands at a defining moment. The 2019-2024 term witnessed the breakthrough of long-stagnant gender initiatives, but challenges loom large in advancing gender equality in the EU. This article explores the prospects for the policy directions that will shape the gender equality agenda of the next European Parliament and Commission in this context. By Victoire Olczak Countering online risks in a ‘Super Election Year’: Why the EU and Africa need each other Analysis The European Union should work together with partners in Africa to secure electoral systems against cyberattacks and to prevent the spread of false and misleading information. This is also in line with European interests and values. By Cayley Clifford and Sabine Muscat Eurovision: National self-portrayal or building a European identity? Analysis Although the Eurovision Song Contest was not intended as an instrument of European integration, it has become a symbol of it – even if the relationship between national and European identity is contradictory. Europe before the elections: Questions and consequences for the economy Interview Five years after the European Green Deal was launched, Europe's economic strength and security are at stake. What lies ahead for the German and European economy? A conversation with Sandra Parthie and Roderick Kefferpütz. By Phillip Käding , Sandra Parthie and Roderick Kefferpütz The sustainability of AI beyond regulation: a revival of national strategies? Commentary Governments worldwide have been adopting national AI strategies to guide the design of policies for enhancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) development. Through these strategies, many countries have expressed AI’s potential for helping combat environmental degradation, but almost none have reflected on the role of strategies in reducing AI’s own environmental impacts. This article discusses this trend and reflects on how public policies could help make AI development and deployment less impactful. By José Renato Laranjeira de Pereira Trade unions, collective bargaining and the green transition in the next EU legislative period Commentary The climate emergency is the number one policy priority, requiring a fundamental overhaul of our economic system. During the Val Duchesse Social Partner meeting, the European Commission announced the creation of a Social Dialogue envoy. However, the roles of social dialogue and collective bargaining remain underappreciated, and the European Institutions need to focus on strengthening the role of trade unions in shaping the just transition throughout the next legislature. By Béla Galgóczi The EU AI Act and environmental protection: the case for a missed opportunity Commentary The AI Act has finally overcome its latest hurdle in the European Union’s legislative procedure after its adoption by the European Parliament. However, a void in its final version draws attention to the weakening of obligations aimed at reducing AI’s environmental impacts, despite the technology’s severe impacts on local communities, fauna and flora, both within and beyond European borders, particularly in the Majority World. This commentary investigates the opportunities missed by EU bodies to address such impacts during the AI Act debates. By José Renato Laranjeira de Pereira “We have to demonstrate that free societies do things better” Interview Timothy Garton Ash is one of the greatest political voices in Europe. In his latest book “Homelands,” he tells the story of how Europe emerged from the ravages of war in 1945, recovered, rebuilt, and moved towards the ideal of a Europe that is “whole, free, and at peace” ‒ until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A conversation with Roderick Kefferpütz about shattered illusions, the war in Ukraine, democratic backsliding, and the fight for freedom. By Roderick Kefferpütz and Timothy Garton Ash 3 Questions on European security to MdB Sara Nanni 3 questions EU nukes, EU army, EU Defence Commissioner – the debate on European security and defence is heating up. It feels like every week a new political proposal is made. So we asked three questions to Sara Nanni, Member of the German Bundestag and the Green parliamentary group’s spokesperson on defence policy, on how she views the latest developments. By Roderick Kefferpütz and Sara Nanni
Greens in the EU election: down in the West, up in the East, South and North Analysis 2019 was an extraordinary election year for the European Green Party, and it was clear from the beginning of the 2024 campaign that it would be tough to match it again this year. While the Greens lost seats overall, most of the losses were concentrated in Germany and Western Europe, while the bloc was able to pick up new seats in the South and East. By Tobias Gerhard Schminke
European Parliament elections: climate policies will suffer Analysis Europe went to the polls over four days, from 6 to 9 June, to choose a new European Parliament (EP), the EU’s main legislative body of the 27-member bloc. The turnout was healthy – slightly less than the highest-ever participation in 2019 – but the results could well constitute a blow for the bloc’s climate protection efforts. There are 720 seats in total, of which 361 seats are needed for a majority. By Paul Hockenos
Europe on the Ballot: Who will rule the EU? Analysis The chances of a conservative majority after the European elections are slim, but the normalisation of radical-right forces is a wake-up call for progressives. By Filipe Henriques
The European Parliament Elections Will Serve as a Litmus Test for the Fight Against Disinformation Analysis The upcoming European Parliament elections are set to be a critical test in the fight against disinformation. With new regulations and AI challenges, how will Europe ensure election integrity? By Drew Mitnick and Zora Siebert
Advancing gender equality: What perspective for the next EU legislative cycle? Analysis With the European Parliament elections taking place between on 6-9 June 2024, the European Union stands at a defining moment. The 2019-2024 term witnessed the breakthrough of long-stagnant gender initiatives, but challenges loom large in advancing gender equality in the EU. This article explores the prospects for the policy directions that will shape the gender equality agenda of the next European Parliament and Commission in this context. By Victoire Olczak
Countering online risks in a ‘Super Election Year’: Why the EU and Africa need each other Analysis The European Union should work together with partners in Africa to secure electoral systems against cyberattacks and to prevent the spread of false and misleading information. This is also in line with European interests and values. By Cayley Clifford and Sabine Muscat
Eurovision: National self-portrayal or building a European identity? Analysis Although the Eurovision Song Contest was not intended as an instrument of European integration, it has become a symbol of it – even if the relationship between national and European identity is contradictory.
Europe before the elections: Questions and consequences for the economy Interview Five years after the European Green Deal was launched, Europe's economic strength and security are at stake. What lies ahead for the German and European economy? A conversation with Sandra Parthie and Roderick Kefferpütz. By Phillip Käding , Sandra Parthie and Roderick Kefferpütz
The sustainability of AI beyond regulation: a revival of national strategies? Commentary Governments worldwide have been adopting national AI strategies to guide the design of policies for enhancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) development. Through these strategies, many countries have expressed AI’s potential for helping combat environmental degradation, but almost none have reflected on the role of strategies in reducing AI’s own environmental impacts. This article discusses this trend and reflects on how public policies could help make AI development and deployment less impactful. By José Renato Laranjeira de Pereira
Trade unions, collective bargaining and the green transition in the next EU legislative period Commentary The climate emergency is the number one policy priority, requiring a fundamental overhaul of our economic system. During the Val Duchesse Social Partner meeting, the European Commission announced the creation of a Social Dialogue envoy. However, the roles of social dialogue and collective bargaining remain underappreciated, and the European Institutions need to focus on strengthening the role of trade unions in shaping the just transition throughout the next legislature. By Béla Galgóczi
The EU AI Act and environmental protection: the case for a missed opportunity Commentary The AI Act has finally overcome its latest hurdle in the European Union’s legislative procedure after its adoption by the European Parliament. However, a void in its final version draws attention to the weakening of obligations aimed at reducing AI’s environmental impacts, despite the technology’s severe impacts on local communities, fauna and flora, both within and beyond European borders, particularly in the Majority World. This commentary investigates the opportunities missed by EU bodies to address such impacts during the AI Act debates. By José Renato Laranjeira de Pereira
“We have to demonstrate that free societies do things better” Interview Timothy Garton Ash is one of the greatest political voices in Europe. In his latest book “Homelands,” he tells the story of how Europe emerged from the ravages of war in 1945, recovered, rebuilt, and moved towards the ideal of a Europe that is “whole, free, and at peace” ‒ until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A conversation with Roderick Kefferpütz about shattered illusions, the war in Ukraine, democratic backsliding, and the fight for freedom. By Roderick Kefferpütz and Timothy Garton Ash
3 Questions on European security to MdB Sara Nanni 3 questions EU nukes, EU army, EU Defence Commissioner – the debate on European security and defence is heating up. It feels like every week a new political proposal is made. So we asked three questions to Sara Nanni, Member of the German Bundestag and the Green parliamentary group’s spokesperson on defence policy, on how she views the latest developments. By Roderick Kefferpütz and Sara Nanni