In the past years, the Union’s initiatives have revolved around building a stronger and resilient Europe (amidst economic difficulty and war in the continent); achieving a greener economy; defending the common European values; and providing citizens a central role in shaping the future of the European project. Significant milestones have been attained, such as the establishment of NextGenerationEU as an unprecedented recovery instrument; the coordinated and strong response to the war of aggression against Ukraine; the adoption of key pieces of legislation delivering on 2030 climate targets; the use of the EU legal system against breaches of founding EU values; and the organisation of a citizen-led Conference on the Future of Europe. At the same time, the EU has sometimes fallen short of its ambitions. Political divisions, the dominance of certain interests in the policy-making process, insufficient solidarity towards vulnerable collectives and distrust of the impartiality and the effectiveness of EU institutions have been visible in recent times, challenging the official narratives put forward and questioning the Union’s strategic agenda.

This inter-disciplinary conference aims at examining the discrepancy between narratives and reality, across four different themes:

• Environmental protection
• Borders and membership
• Inequality and cohesion
• Institutional change

Programme will be available soon.