Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
2023 ESPAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
“Building Europe's Future: Time for Strategic Choices”
Tuesday 14 November 2023.
🌐 Conference website: https://www.espas.eu/conference2023.html
The annual conference of the European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) was held on Tuesday 14 November. As in previous years, it was co-hosted by the European Commission and the European Parliament.
At a time when an illegal and unprovoked war continues to rage on European soil and ahead of the next EU institutional cycle, this year's 11th ESPAS annual conference focused on the key global trends at the crossroads of geopolitics, the environment, technology, the economy, and democracy. We debated, inter alia, the growing linkages between stability, security and the economy, the global tech race and future social, economic and environmental fairness, and digital technologies and their impact on democracy. We also mapped the related strategic choices for Europe in the period to 2040.
This year's conference "Building Europe's future: time for strategic choices" will be a stepping stone in the journey towards the fourth ESPAS Global Trends Report, due to be published in February 2024. We hope this conference will help to shape the public debate in the lead-up to the European Parliament elections in 2024, and offer citizens a forward-looking perspective for Europe.
2023 ESPAS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
“Building Europe's Future: Time for Strategic Choices”
Tuesday 14 November 2023.
🌐 Conference website: https://www.espas.eu/conference2023.html
The annual conference of the European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) was held on Tuesday 14 November. As in previous years, it was co-hosted by the European Commission and the European Parliament.
At a time when an illegal and unprovoked war continues to rage on European soil and ahead of the next EU institutional cycle, this year's 11th ESPAS annual conference focused on the key global trends at the crossroads of geopolitics, the environment, technology, the economy, and democracy. We debated, inter alia, the growing linkages between stability, security and the economy, the global tech race and future social, economic and environmental fairness, and digital technologies and their impact on democracy. We also mapped the related strategic choices for Europe in the period to 2040.
This year's conference "Building Europe's future: time for strategic choices" will be a stepping stone in the journey towards the fourth ESPAS Global Trends Report, due to be published in February 2024. We hope this conference will help to shape the public debate in the lead-up to the European Parliament elections in 2024, and offer citizens a forward-looking perspective for Europe.
![European elections 2024: Rules of a pan-European democratic event [Policy Podcast]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FI-qksOBJc4/mqdefault.jpg "European elections 2024: Rules of a pan-European democratic event [Policy Podcast]
In June 2024, around 400 million EU citizens go to the polls to elect the Members of the European Parliaments 10th legislature. As the only EU institution that represents EU citizens, elections to the European Parliament are a major democratic event, and the only one at EU level that resembles national democratic electoral consultation. European elections, however, differ from the national version, as they are part of a context of multi-tier government, sometimes perceived as second order elections. The main difference is that the European elections are a rather fragmented exercise, since a great part of the electoral process, including the way in which the right to vote is exercised, remains subject to national rules.
See the publication behind this podcast: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2024)757649
🎧Listen to our podcasts reporting on the latest EU policy developments, looking into the impact they will have on our lives and capturing their policy implications:
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/european-parliament-eprs-policy-podcasts/id1086996218?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6gy0Q2GWrcpPsAE71iSiEn
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXVyb3BhcmwuZXVyb3BhLmV1L3Jzcy9wb2RjYXN0L2VwcnMtcG9saWN5LXBvZGNhc3Qvb3IueG1s
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/show/2556622
TuneIn Radio: http://tunein.com/radio/EPRS-Plenary-Podcast-p762190/
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/european-parliament-eprs-policy-podcasts
#UseYourVote
#EUelections2024")
![The role of the Parliament in appointing the new European Commission [Policy Podcast]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G_nxeJf5RWw/mqdefault.jpg "The role of the Parliament in appointing the new European Commission [Policy Podcast]
One of the most important roles of the European Parliament, next to legislating, is to hold the European Commission accountable. As the newly elected 720 Members of the European Parliament take their seats, one of their first and most important tasks will be to elect the next President of the European Commission, and, shortly after, to greenlight the Commissioners’ designate put forward by the Member States. Find out how this process works with us.
See the publication behind this podcast:
Timeline to new EU institutional leadership: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2024)762293
🎧Listen to our podcasts reporting on the latest EU policy developments, looking into the impact they will have on our lives and capturing their policy implications:
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/european-parliament-eprs-policy-podcasts/id1086996218?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6gy0Q2GWrcpPsAE71iSiEn
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXVyb3BhcmwuZXVyb3BhLmV1L3Jzcy9wb2RjYXN0L2VwcnMtcG9saWN5LXBvZGNhc3Qvb3IueG1s
#EuropeanParliament")
![Climate overshoot and adaptation: Issues to watch in 2024 [Policy Podcast]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HxjZPEfqAwc/mqdefault.jpg "Climate overshoot and adaptation: Issues to watch in 2024 [Policy Podcast]
🌡️ The world is not on track to keep the global temperature rise below 2°C. Even under the most optimistic scenarios, the temperature rise is expected to overshoot 1.5°C for a while, before falling back below 1.5°C thanks to large-scale carbon removals.
While action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and scale up carbon dioxide removal remains crucial, there is an urgent need to reinforce efforts to adapt to climate change, in order to avoid losses and build resilience.
🎧 Subscribe to EPRS Policy Podcasts: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/audio-podcasts.html
🔎 Read the in-depth analysis Ten issues to watch in 2024 behind this podcast:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_IDA(2024)757592")
![EU-New Zealand free trade agreement [Policy Podcast]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IBzUPrZmYPg/mqdefault.jpg "EU-New Zealand free trade agreement [Policy Podcast]
On 30 June 2022, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and then New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive EU-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA). The agreement was signed on 9 July 2023. Although the 2014-2019 Commission had initially aimed to finalise negotiations before the end of its mandate, both sides raised several sensitive issues during negotiations, not least because New Zealand is a major and competitive producer and exporter of agricultural goods. The EU committed to taking European agricultural sensitivities fully into consideration in its negotiating strategy.
Subscribe to EPRS Policy Podcasts: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/audio-podcasts.html
See the paper publication behind this podcast:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)757564")
