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7/3/2017
European Commission - Future of Europe homepage banner; a semi circle of blue origami birds and stars around the words "Future in Europe"
European Commission

European Commission: White Paper on the Future of Europe presenting avenues for unity for the EU at 27

On the 1st March 2017, the European Commission President Junker presented a White Paper on the Future of Europe: Avenues for unity for the EU at 27 to the European Parliament. The document sets out the main achievements of the European Union: a peace spanning seven decades and an enlarged Union of 500 million citizens living in freedom in one of the world’s most prosperous economies.

The White Paper investigates the problems and challenges that the Union is facing today from various sources; doubts about globalisation, the rise of populism and security concerns on one hand and technological advances and its effect on society and the labour market on the other. The paper presents five scenarios of the prospects of the Union, how it may change and evolve in the next decade and how it may look by 2025, depending on how it chooses to respond to these current trends.

It seeks to outline different ways for building a united EU in the 27 member States. The scenarios in the White Paper cover a range of possibilities, each of which gives an insight into the possible future of Europe. They are not exhaustive, neither are they mutually exclusive:

  • Scenario 1: Carrying On
  • Scenario 2: Nothing but the Single Market
  • Scenario 3: Those Who Want More, Do More
  • Scenario 4: Doing Less, More Efficiently
  • Scenario 5: Doing Much More Together

The European Commission will host a series of 'Future of Europe Debates' across Europe's cities and regions in the coming months to harvest and harness opinions on the way forward. It will further contribute to the process with a series of reflection papers on the development of the social dimension of Europe, on the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union, the harnessing of globalisation, on the future of Europe's defence and security, and on the future of the EU finances.