The world that gave birth to the European Green Deal is no more. But thinking about what comes next has become a matter of urgency. By the end of the mandate of the next European Commission, we will be in 2029, just one year before crucial deadlines in terms of climate and sustainable development. At a time when Europe needs to step up its efforts if it is to meet its 2030 targets, resistance to change is on the rise and many political families are calling for a slowdown, if not a regulatory pause, in the ecological transition. The growing rift between the world's major powers and the persistence of a major conflict on Europe's doorstep have also fundamentally changed the situation.
In this new context, can we reinvent a deal that is just as ambitious, but rooted in the continent's new realities?
As climate disasters are a constant reminder of the urgency to take action, what will be the driving forces behind action in the new period that opens in 2024 after the European elections? What will be the key issues and players? How can we overcome the obstacles and resistance in the Member States and at European level? These are just some of the questions that IDDRI is seeking to answer through its “European States of Mind - Reinventing the Deal” project.
In the run-up to the European elections in June 2024, the Institute is launching an editorial project to publish the ideas of European thinkers (politicians, think tanks, academics) in about 15 Member States in the form of blog posts. The aim is to provide food for thought for leaders and intellectuals in France and throughout Europe, and for future MEPs, on what is shaping the political debates in the various Member States, to enrich the debates on the implementation of the Green Deal, and not to bypass the way in which the ecological transition is linked with the social and economic dimensions, so as to maintain its ambition over the next five years.