The Political Economy of Europe’s Future and Identity, Florence/Lisbon: EUI and UCP Press

Today’s European Union (EU) finds itself in a permanent crisis mode – crises appear no longer sequentially and time distant but overlap and reinforce each other and even interact. Yet, the EU needs to successfully address those crises to deliver results for its citizens and hold the ‘club’ together. There is also demand for some soul- and identity-searching, with a shared identity and values assuming special importance for facilitating collective action and leaps forward in times of crisis, such as at present, when the EU faces the need to stand by its values while pursuing its main objectives and its current priorities for 2019-24, most notably the European Green Deal (EGD). Both – addressing multiple challenges and a shared identity – are fundamental for making the EU more resilient to shocks and European integration sustainable (and with a purpose) over time. And they are related. From different perspectives and angles, contributors shed light and outline their thoughts on what are the current challenges facing European integration. Those feature both broader issues encompassing Europe’s identity and solidarity as well as more specific ones related to climate, economic, fiscal and monetary policy challenges, or EU trade, defence, migration and artificial intelligence issues.