With more uncertainty ahead, it raises questions about how to rebuild unity across diverse opinions and regions in the EU while avoiding a narrow, EU-centric approach
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This article is a part of the essay series “Budapest Edit”
These are turbulent times for Europe. In the spring of 2024, the European Parliament elections illustrated growing discontent and distance between citizens and European institutions in many countries across the European Union (EU), whereas the EU space seems to be shrinking. In the West, Brexit has separated the United Kingdom from the EU. In the East, the frontline of the war between Russia and Ukraine stretches over 1,000km. In the South and the North, geopolitical risks are multiplying, such as in Libya or along the Baltic Sea. Meanwhile, in the Near East, the war between Israel and its neighbours has caused immense suffering, divided public opinion, and created new trade obstacles, particularly in the Red Sea.
More uncertainty is yet to come, further questioning how we can rebuild a sense of togetherness across various opinions and regions in the EU, and how to avoid falling into a narrow-minded EU-centric approach primarily based upon the fear of others and the aggressive promotion of exclusive values. While the creation of the European Political Community as an intergovernmental forum in 2022 was a significant step, it does not answer the question of how citizens can find meaning and hope in the future of the EU and Europe. Here, complexity is further compounded by the growing acknowledgement that Europe is no longer the centre of the post-pandemic multipolar world. Instead, the publication of the Draghi Report on European Competitiveness in September illustrated a rapidly accelerating decoupling between growth and investments in the US and the EU, while EU green policies are often criticised by emerging countries for hampering their competitiveness. And while the newly re-elected President of the EU Commission signed the EU-Mercosur agreement in December, the way towards its ratification by EU member states will not be easy.
What if this was the moment to learn from the current presidencies of the G20 by Indonesia, India, Brazil, and South Africa, in particular, the innovative and productive cooperation initiated by think tanks from major emerging countries alongside their counterparts from the G7 Germany, Japan, and Italy? What if the future of Europe depended on its capacity to become, again, a place where to meet to address the multiple challenges of our world and think ahead? However strong they may be, transatlantic linkages should not be an obstacle to building on new opportunities, as illustrated by the diversity of participants at the Budapest Global Dialogue. Recent research conducted about the India Middle East Europe Corridor (IMEC) by the Delhi-based RIS has also raised strong interest from multiple and diverse think tanks in Europe, India, and the Middle East, with more to come in 2025. In the meantime, exchanges between Chinese and European think tanks and convening platforms have multiplied, such as the East-West Center, the Taihe Institute, and the Imperial Springs International Forum, amongst others.
The growing appeal of South-South cooperation, championed by both China and India, reflects the early stages of reimagining the 2030 Agenda, alongside the architecture of multilateral financial institutions and the United Nations system. This signals the vibrant activity of think tanks worldwide, transcending traditional geopolitical and geoeconomic boundaries. The success of the BRICS academic forum and various forms of cooperation in science, technology, and innovation among BRICS nations, which expanded during Russia's BRICS presidency in 2024 and is expected to continue growing in 2025 under Brazil’s chairmanship and the hosting of COP30, illustrates a world undergoing active transformation. These developments call for a comprehensive reset of Europe’s capacities and abilities to rethink its role in a rapidly changing global landscape.
Nicolas J.A. Buchoud, President, Cercle Grand Paris de l’Investissement Durable, Senior advisor to the dean and CEO, Asian Development Bank Institute and Fellow, Global Solutions Initiative (GSI)
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Nicolas Buchoud is the co-founder and President of the Grand Paris Alliance for Metropolitan Development, a think tank established in 2011 that focuses on inclusive, ...
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