3 February 2022
Three briefings summing up the biggest ELF events of 2021 – Science, Not Fiction, Multi-Speed Europe and A Europe of Values series.
Authored by ELF Research Officer Francesco Cappelletti and Research Assistant Matei Stefan, this briefing sums up the key takeaways from ELF’s most popular events of the year – the Science, Not Fiction series. Overall, the European Union and its Member States can compete globally with high technological value and cutting-edge solutions. Reflecting on our future is more necessary than ever; shaping it means taking part in innovation and not letting it slide by. In this context, this policy brief aims to guide liberal policymakers so that Europe can succeed in its goal of digital sovereignty, made strong thanks to a flourishing internal digital market, and supported by regulation shaped around the individual.
Authored by ELF Research Assistant Matei Stefan, this briefing brings together the main takeaways from the discussions which happened during the Multi-Speed Europe event series organised by ELF. The existence of a Multi-Speed Europe is a reality. The concept relates to the pace of integration – or lack thereof – of Member States into different structures of the Union. The dissimilarity of integrative speed is intrinsically linked to the different resources, goals and socio-economic backgrounds of each Member State.
Authored by some of the speakers of A Europe of Values event series, Laurent Pech, Nikolay Staykov, Núria González Campañá, Pola Cebulak, talk about rule of law in the EU. For many years, the EU has been struggling to respond adequately to rule of law violations in its own member states. With the Next Generation EU recovery funds now in the hands of governments who seem to be moving away from the democratic and liberal values of the EU, continued inaction is affecting the people’s trust in the EU project. “A Europe of Values” learns from the examples of CVM, Article 7 proceedings and inconsistencies within the EU institutions themselves to show that it is now time to move beyond dialogue towards concrete actions.