![The State of the Union [What Think Tanks are thinking]](https://theme-one.epthinktank.be/app/uploads/2017/09/eprs_brie_608693_state_of_the_union_final.jpg)
Written by Marcin Grajewski,
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, laid out his vision of the European Union in his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 13 September 2017. He noted that the overall outlook has changed for the better over the past year, notably thanks to an accelerating economic recovery. ‘The wind is back in the European sails,’ he declared.
Much interest focussed on Juncker’s advocacy of various eurozone and EU institutional reforms. He proposed the designation of a eurozone finance minister, who would preside over the Eurogroup, as well as being a member of the Commission. He supported the development of a European Monetary Fund. However, he opted against the creation of a separate eurozone budget, preferring a dedicated budget line within a general EU budget. He also said there should not be a separate eurozone parliament either. He favoured combining the presidencies of the Commission and the European Council, and he supported the idea a new, additional transnational constituency for the European elections. On the policy front, he advocated a pro-innovation industrial strategy, a reinforced social pillar, an authority to supervise fairness in the single market, better handling of migratory flows, and new trade agreements.
This note offers links to commentaries, studies and reports from major international think tanks on the state of the EU and possible reforms. Brexit-related publications can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are Thinking. Earlier papers on the general condition of the EU are available in another edition in this series, published in April 2017.
As EU emerges from ‘valley of tears’, there’s hope but also challenges
Friends of Europe, September 2017
Should the EU have the power to vet foreign takeovers?
Bruegel, September 2017
Germans are more optimistic about their future than their European neighbours
Bertelsmann Stiftung, September 2017
Europe and its discontents: Poland’s collision course with the European Union
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2017
L’Europe qui protège: Conceiving the next European Union
European Council on Foreign Relations, September 2017
Social Europe is back on the agenda, but there is no big breakthrough
Fondation Européenne d’Etudes Progressistes, September 2017
Numerous tensions stand in the way of agreement on the European Social Pillar
Fondation Européenne d’Etudes Progressistes, September 2017
Macron a game changer for Europe?
Centre for European Policy Studies, August 2017
The EU in the German elections: A window of opportunity for euro and defence reforms
Finnish Institute of International Affairs, August 2017
The reform of the EU courts
Egmont, August 2017
EU unity beyond Brexit
Carnegie Europe, August 2017
Can Macron’s gamble to save the EU pay off?
Carnegie Europe, August 2017
Europe must seize this moment of opportunity
Bruegel, August 2017
France and Germany: Spearheading a European Security and Defence Union?
Notre Europe, July 2017
European public opinion and the EU following the peak of the migration crisis
Notre Europe, July 2017
The Great Recession’s biggest losers: The euro area’s jobless
Centre for European Policy Studies, August 2017
Réconcilier l’Europe avec ses citoyens
Confrontations Europe, August 2017
Politique industrielle européenne: Le retour
Confrontations Europe, August 2017
The EU is not out of the danger zone
Carnegie Europe, July 2017
Time to stop the Polish danse macabre
Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2017
The international effects of the ECB’s monetary policy
Bruegel, July 2017
Why the EU will have an industrial policy, but not necessarily a good one
European Policy Centre, July 2017
La démocratie de coalition en Europe
Fondation Robert Schuman, July 2017
New Pact for Europe: National report – Greece
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, July 2017
New Pact for Europe: National report – Italy
Institute Affari Institutionali, July 2017
The Future of Europe: Comparing public and elite attitudes
Chatham House, June 2017
The EU’s choice: Perspectives on deepening and differentiation
Finnish Institute for International Affairs, May 2017
Breathing new life into European defense
Carnegie Europe, June 2017
The renewed French-German partnership
Carnegie Europe, June 2017
Grundfreiheiten als Liberalisierungsgebote? Reformoptionen im Kontext der EU-Reformdebatte
Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung, June 2017
The future of the European budget: What does the Commission’s White Paper mean for EU finances?
Notre Europe, June 2017
How is Juncker’s ‘last-chance Commission’ faring at mid-term?
Centre for European Policy Studies, June 2017
Let’s use the new EUphoria to tackle Europe’s root problems
Friends of Europe, June 2017
The existential challenges looming for the EU
Centre for Policy Studies, June 2017
Comment combattre le populisme en Europe?
Terra nova, June 2017
Renewed optimism ahead of political breakthroughs?
European Policy Centre, June 2017
Europe’s reform opportunity
European Policy Centre, June 2017
The Eurozone’s hidden strengths
Centre for European Policy Studies, June 2017
European economic diplomacy: What role for the EIB?
Egmont, June 2017
Populism: The risks and impact on European states
Carnegie Europe, June 2017
The case for a federal Europe
American Enterprise Institute, June 2017
Reconstructing the Union: Report of the 2017 CEPS Ideas Lab
Centre for European Policy Studies, May 2017
We need a European Monetary Fund, but how should it work?
Bruegel, May 2017
The European Fund for Strategic Investments as a new type of budgetary instrument
Centre for European Policy Studies, May 2017
New Pact for Europe: National report, Finland
Finnish Institute for International Affairs, May 2017
New Pact for Europe: National report – Germany
European Policy Centre, Jacques Delors Institute Berlin, May 2017
New Pact for Europe: National report – Belgium
Egmont, May 2017
Seizing the moment for Euro Area reform
Bertelsmann Stiftung, May 2017
The rise of post-national democracy: Macron, Brexit and the electoral reform of the European Parliament
European Policy Centre, May 2017
Right-wing populism and authoritarian nationalism in the U.S. and Europe
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, May 2017
Defending Europe to defend real sovereignty
Notre Europe, April 2017
National referendums on European issues: from clarification to frustration
Notre Europe, April 2017
Radical right and radical left Euroscepticism : A dynamic phenomenon
Jacques Delors Institute Berlin, April 2017
Read this briefing on ‘The State of the Union‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
Anticipating my next blog post, I am going to wish for a thematic update soon, when think tanks have commented on the state of the union 2017 debate: https://grahnlaw.blogspot.fi/
[…] ‘What Think Tanks are thinking.’ Earlier papers on the general state of the EU are available in another edition in this series, published in September 2017. More reports on euro zone reforms are also gathered in […]