What’s the plan for Europe? The economy, inequality, Brexit, the refugee crisis, climate change, biodiversity loss; there are certainly enough big issues for the next European Commission to tackle. Which problems should they address first? Different parties campaigning in the European Parliament elections are pushing for different solutions and priorities. For example, some parties think climate change is the biggest challenge facing Europe, while others want to focus on security and border control.
What do our readers think? We had a comment from Jose, who asks what the priorities for the next European Commission should be. What should it focus on after the European Parliament elections? Should it make a radical break with the last five years? Push for more modest reforms? Or stick with the course the EU is currently on?
What should the EU’s priorities be for the next 5 years? We asked Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from all sides of the political spectrum to stake out their positions on this question, and it’s up to YOU to vote for the policies you favour. See what the different MEPs have to say, then vote at the bottom of this debate for the one you most agree with! Take part in the vote below and tell us who you support in the European Parliament!
Radical Left
Tania González Peñas (GUE-NGL), Member of the European Parliament:
During the next 5 years, the EU should focus on:
1. Provide efficient rules and financial tools for a green industrial planning at EU level
2. Fight for a reduction of the weekly working time to 4 days a week
3. Contribute to provide security: healthcare, high pensions, better education & training systems, accessible housing, mobility urban and interurban networks, and energy to warm each home
4. Women empowerment
5. More direct democracy
Social Democrats
Liliana Rodrigues (S&D), Member of the European Parliament:
Greens
Philippe Lamberts (European Greens), Member of the European Parliament:
Liberal Democrats
Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE), Member of the European Parliament (and ALDE Spitzenkandidat):
First of all, we have to show the citizens that illiberalism, populism and nationalism are not the way forward. Brexit shows what happens when you follow the path of the people who want to wreck Europe: chaos instead of stability. I hope that after the Brexit, we can focus our energy on a more positive project. We have a lot of work ahead of us: climate change, the finalisation of the internal market, how to become more competitive vis a vis the new “empires” such as China and India, we must build a European economic governance, protect ourselves against Russia by creating a European Defence Pillar within Nato and finally put in place a functioning asylum- and migration policy. Let’s start to work on this!
Centre Right
Wim Van de Camp (EPP), Member of the European Parliament:
Conservatives
Syed Kamall (ECR), Member of the European Parliament:
Eurosceptics
Daniela Aiuto (EFDD), Member of the European Parliament:
The European Union project must be corrected if its founding values are to be preserved and if the objectives of cooperation and solidarity between Member States are to be truly achieved. Priority must be given to the fight against internal poverty, to a new and more supportive management of migratory flows, to the improvement of physical and technological infrastructures throughout the territory of the Union (remember that there are very disadvantaged peripheral areas), because only through quality networks can the internal market and the production of the entrepreneurial fabric be boosted. However, unjustified investments that lead and have led to the famous ‘cathedrals in the desert’, thereby rationalising economic resources, must be avoided, and absolute priority must be given to protecting the environment, soil and water, since the climate emergency is no longer an issue that can be postponed.
Security, economy, immigration(internal and external), foreign policy and internal policy.
Asawa
Create a currency independent US dollar
John-romi
Fight against coruption. Too many milionares that pay zero taxes and to many taxes for working class.. The gap between the social classes to big .
Wasim
United force, in spot of update changes in other countries policies, like US, in order to maintain the stability
Find other resources and try to be allied rather occupy some country, French-Libya as example
Try to stand up against extreme rights wings, cause unlike how the promote themselves, they are actually dangerous even to themselves but they don’t really know what they are doing and foreigner countries are obviously support them so it will be easier for them to control Europe, Russia is a big example
Try to work with their citizens and rise the awareness of how dangerous racism and it will lead to no good at all, not even if it succeeded to achieve its target
There is some microeconomic and microsocial things still need to do but not enough pace to mention thrm here, example, trying to establish social studies as subject in school were children could study how yo make a conversation with different cultures as well as they own culture, and how to maintain and stabilise their relation… Etc
Rumy
Closing and protecting the borders and major restructuring of the bureaucratic EU system.
Olivier
Protecting Europeans by controlling migrations and low quality Chinese products
Stef
Migration causes almost all of the current problems so that would be a good place to start..
Max
European Federal Republic, with people at its focus, not economy.
EU Reform- Proactive
Wishes of voters don’t count! Even “Head of States” (the “EU Council”) are lately reprimanded by its own “President”! Scandalous!
Priority: less interference, safeguarding member’s competences & decision making by consensus! A leaner EU bureaucracy. More consideration for the CoE= all 48 European nations.
Is the current EU president violating international law? Just what Russia is accused of doing in the US & attempting to do at the EU elections- the EU follows suit?
Let’s revisit the UN Gen Ass 1970:
“No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently, all forms of interference or attempted threats against the personality of the State or against its political, economic and cultural elements, are in violation of international law.”
This President has to come clean and retract any “threat” against any member state. Therefore- never an EU army!
Valentin
Single currency, single army, single small government, not this huge inefficient bureaucracy, federation, minimum wage in EU, development funds for eastern European Union countries such as Romania and Bulgaria, easy access to these funds for young entrepreneurs.
Jan
Do what citizens want and not what politicians invent ….
Kevin
less bureaucracy. Some MEP just show up, immediately clock out, and they got their salary for a day worth of working. The EU needs large reforms.
Fern Moore
I want to say “reform” five times, but I think it’s even worse than that. The EU needs a complete systemic restructuring to create a real democracy and not a sham one, with a constitution that guarantees adherence to human and civil rights like free speech. As far as I can tell the treaty of human rights is treated like a suggestion and not a rule. The presidency should be a peoples vote, the parliament should work like a normal parliament with the power to propose and debate laws instead of just stamping “yes” on everything the commission wants, the commission should be completely abolished as a redundant and unnecessary institution, and MP’s should have strict term limits to end the blatant careerism and corruption.
After that has been done then I’d agree with the conservative chap, do less and do it better. If you think regulating the length of candle wicks is a worthwhile endeavor then the EU government is worse than useless. Also, stop trampling on the sovereignty of our nations. Member states should be treated like women’s bodies, our body our choice, and no touching with out consent.
Paul X
Use only one Parliament building and save the taxpayer lots of money
Stop generating unnecessary duplicate legislation, adopt existing International regulations and save the taxpayer lots of money
Reduce EU pensions so they are in line with what the average worker will get and save the taxpayer lots of money
Drink tap water at business lunches and get rid of the wine cellar and save the taxpayer lots of money
There’s many more but I’m sure the theme is obvious….
José
Give Europa to the europeans. MEGA. Make Europe great again.
Gonçalo
The awful New car rules it intends to implement in 2022
John
Better cordination and follow up on EU funds. Most of the funds are a waste . They are given to companies whom have a history of paing zero taxe, they are given to people with out of minim experiece in that domain. On the other hand they shoud organize classes and courese to train them before . check their history before .
Maria
Votem, right, protect borders
Asawa
Get independent from US tech industries and avoid USD so to have an independent European point of view
João
1-leave the Euro. 2 – more public investment 3- more social Europe 4- big agenda for the clima 5- nationalisation of key member state companies such as:national electric companies, etc…
Vasilis
Top priorities 1. immigration control 2. Taxation (more taxes for the multinationals companies-less taxes for EU citizens) 3. Create jobs 4. Environment 5. More power to EU parliament, less power to Brussels bureaucracy (Eurogroup, European Council, EU summits, e.t.c.)
Nikos
Let’s start with the basics … Search find and READ the declarations made when the E.U was starting the journey of becoming reality … By reading them it’s easy to understand E.U hasn’t become what it suppose to be .. No need to ask people what the priorities should be when they are all ready written more than 50 year’s ago … Of course to set the priorities E U should follow in the future a good amount of today’s leadership of E.U should go home or go back and work to the companies they represent instead of pretending to be the representative of the E.U people …
Helena
Education:
Teach priorities and basic vital needs in life such as good sleep, relationships and behaviour, helping others, exercise, nutrition
Teach administration and states organisation
Teach politics and economics
Teach civilization
Teach to think
Antonio
Technology
Joao
Converting the EU in ECC…
Carlos
Climate change; Banking union; European army; European passports; Helping people to get Jobs. Those would be my 5 top priorities in the next 5 years.
WazWii
1. Plan is to integrate more with Africa and Middle East. Make economic plans to bring those regions up economically so that less people feel the need to flee those countries. Make more diplomatic trips. Get China to invest in infrastructure in those regions if we cannot step up.
2. Also need to stick to Iran Nuclear Accord. We have more skin-in-the game than the USA so I suggest Europe starts leading.
3. To do that Europe needs a more internationally used currency. I suggest you get on with it.
4. Further Europe needs to reach out and sign many more free-trade agreements (a process I am happy to see has started).
Europe can no longer rely fully on the USA as the USA is politically becoming disfunctional and erratic. Stability in International Relations is called for and 5. Europe needs to have its voice heard otherwise we will become marginalized.
Guzeppi
I agree to nearly all your points, well done! My only disagreement lies in last part of your point 1. We cannot get China to step in; it’s up to China. Moreover china is already involved in these regions and it seems that its track record there is not that all unblemished. Some argue that they are committing the same mistakes that some colonial European powers did years ago.
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What’s the plan for Europe? The economy, inequality, Brexit, the refugee crisis, climate change, biodiversity loss; there are certainly enough big issues for the next European Commission to tackle. Which problems should they address first? Different parties campaigning in the European Parliament elections are pushing for different solutions and priorities. For example, some parties think climate change is the biggest challenge facing Europe, while others want to focus on security and border control.During the next 5 years, the EU should focus on:
First of all, we have to show the citizens that illiberalism, populism and nationalism are not the way forward. Brexit shows what happens when you follow the path of the people who want to wreck Europe: chaos instead of stability. I hope that after the Brexit, we can focus our energy on a more positive project. We have a lot of work ahead of us: climate change, the finalisation of the internal market, how to become more competitive vis a vis the new “empires” such as China and India, we must build a European economic governance, protect ourselves against Russia by creating a European Defence Pillar within Nato and finally put in place a functioning asylum- and migration policy. Let’s start to work on this!
The European Union project must be corrected if its founding values are to be preserved and if the objectives of cooperation and solidarity between Member States are to be truly achieved. Priority must be given to the fight against internal poverty, to a new and more supportive management of migratory flows, to the improvement of physical and technological infrastructures throughout the territory of the Union (remember that there are very disadvantaged peripheral areas), because only through quality networks can the internal market and the production of the entrepreneurial fabric be boosted. However, unjustified investments that lead and have led to the famous ‘cathedrals in the desert’, thereby rationalising economic resources, must be avoided, and absolute priority must be given to protecting the environment, soil and water, since the climate emergency is no longer an issue that can be postponed.
28 comments Post a commentcomment
Security, economy, immigration(internal and external), foreign policy and internal policy.
Create a currency independent US dollar
Fight against coruption. Too many milionares that pay zero taxes and to many taxes for working class.. The gap between the social classes to big .
United force, in spot of update changes in other countries policies, like US, in order to maintain the stability
Find other resources and try to be allied rather occupy some country, French-Libya as example
Try to stand up against extreme rights wings, cause unlike how the promote themselves, they are actually dangerous even to themselves but they don’t really know what they are doing and foreigner countries are obviously support them so it will be easier for them to control Europe, Russia is a big example
Try to work with their citizens and rise the awareness of how dangerous racism and it will lead to no good at all, not even if it succeeded to achieve its target
There is some microeconomic and microsocial things still need to do but not enough pace to mention thrm here, example, trying to establish social studies as subject in school were children could study how yo make a conversation with different cultures as well as they own culture, and how to maintain and stabilise their relation… Etc
Closing and protecting the borders and major restructuring of the bureaucratic EU system.
Protecting Europeans by controlling migrations and low quality Chinese products
Migration causes almost all of the current problems so that would be a good place to start..
European Federal Republic, with people at its focus, not economy.
Wishes of voters don’t count! Even “Head of States” (the “EU Council”) are lately reprimanded by its own “President”! Scandalous!
Priority: less interference, safeguarding member’s competences & decision making by consensus! A leaner EU bureaucracy. More consideration for the CoE= all 48 European nations.
Is the current EU president violating international law? Just what Russia is accused of doing in the US & attempting to do at the EU elections- the EU follows suit?
Let’s revisit the UN Gen Ass 1970:
“No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently, all forms of interference or attempted threats against the personality of the State or against its political, economic and cultural elements, are in violation of international law.”
http://www.aalep.eu/principle-non-intervention-contemporary-international-law
In 2016 JCJ stated: “the EU interferes too much in people’s lives.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/jean-claude-juncker-says-eu-interferes-too-much/
Now in May 2019 he regrets not having interfered in UK’s Brexit referendum:
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/europe/2019-05-07-eu-says-it-should-have-interfered-with-brexit-referendum/
This President has to come clean and retract any “threat” against any member state. Therefore- never an EU army!
Single currency, single army, single small government, not this huge inefficient bureaucracy, federation, minimum wage in EU, development funds for eastern European Union countries such as Romania and Bulgaria, easy access to these funds for young entrepreneurs.
Do what citizens want and not what politicians invent ….
less bureaucracy. Some MEP just show up, immediately clock out, and they got their salary for a day worth of working. The EU needs large reforms.
I want to say “reform” five times, but I think it’s even worse than that. The EU needs a complete systemic restructuring to create a real democracy and not a sham one, with a constitution that guarantees adherence to human and civil rights like free speech. As far as I can tell the treaty of human rights is treated like a suggestion and not a rule. The presidency should be a peoples vote, the parliament should work like a normal parliament with the power to propose and debate laws instead of just stamping “yes” on everything the commission wants, the commission should be completely abolished as a redundant and unnecessary institution, and MP’s should have strict term limits to end the blatant careerism and corruption.
After that has been done then I’d agree with the conservative chap, do less and do it better. If you think regulating the length of candle wicks is a worthwhile endeavor then the EU government is worse than useless. Also, stop trampling on the sovereignty of our nations. Member states should be treated like women’s bodies, our body our choice, and no touching with out consent.
Use only one Parliament building and save the taxpayer lots of money
Stop generating unnecessary duplicate legislation, adopt existing International regulations and save the taxpayer lots of money
Reduce EU pensions so they are in line with what the average worker will get and save the taxpayer lots of money
Drink tap water at business lunches and get rid of the wine cellar and save the taxpayer lots of money
There’s many more but I’m sure the theme is obvious….
Give Europa to the europeans. MEGA. Make Europe great again.
The awful New car rules it intends to implement in 2022
Better cordination and follow up on EU funds. Most of the funds are a waste . They are given to companies whom have a history of paing zero taxe, they are given to people with out of minim experiece in that domain. On the other hand they shoud organize classes and courese to train them before . check their history before .
Votem, right, protect borders
Get independent from US tech industries and avoid USD so to have an independent European point of view
1-leave the Euro. 2 – more public investment 3- more social Europe 4- big agenda for the clima 5- nationalisation of key member state companies such as:national electric companies, etc…
Top priorities 1. immigration control 2. Taxation (more taxes for the multinationals companies-less taxes for EU citizens) 3. Create jobs 4. Environment 5. More power to EU parliament, less power to Brussels bureaucracy (Eurogroup, European Council, EU summits, e.t.c.)
Let’s start with the basics … Search find and READ the declarations made when the E.U was starting the journey of becoming reality … By reading them it’s easy to understand E.U hasn’t become what it suppose to be .. No need to ask people what the priorities should be when they are all ready written more than 50 year’s ago … Of course to set the priorities E U should follow in the future a good amount of today’s leadership of E.U should go home or go back and work to the companies they represent instead of pretending to be the representative of the E.U people …
Education:
Teach priorities and basic vital needs in life such as good sleep, relationships and behaviour, helping others, exercise, nutrition
Teach administration and states organisation
Teach politics and economics
Teach civilization
Teach to think
Technology
Converting the EU in ECC…
Climate change; Banking union; European army; European passports; Helping people to get Jobs. Those would be my 5 top priorities in the next 5 years.
1. Plan is to integrate more with Africa and Middle East. Make economic plans to bring those regions up economically so that less people feel the need to flee those countries. Make more diplomatic trips. Get China to invest in infrastructure in those regions if we cannot step up.
2. Also need to stick to Iran Nuclear Accord. We have more skin-in-the game than the USA so I suggest Europe starts leading.
3. To do that Europe needs a more internationally used currency. I suggest you get on with it.
4. Further Europe needs to reach out and sign many more free-trade agreements (a process I am happy to see has started).
Europe can no longer rely fully on the USA as the USA is politically becoming disfunctional and erratic. Stability in International Relations is called for and 5. Europe needs to have its voice heard otherwise we will become marginalized.
I agree to nearly all your points, well done! My only disagreement lies in last part of your point 1. We cannot get China to step in; it’s up to China. Moreover china is already involved in these regions and it seems that its track record there is not that all unblemished. Some argue that they are committing the same mistakes that some colonial European powers did years ago.