This closed-door workshop will provide a discussion forum for leading experts and directors of Southern European think tanks, with a view to publish a joint policy paper on EU priorities for 2022 and beyond.
2022 will be a key year for the future of the EU. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will coexist with the implementation of an ambitious recovery programme. A new German government and the French presidential elections will set the tone of future steps in European integration. From the countries of the South of Europe, pro-European governments will also put forward ambitious proposals when it comes to the EU fiscal rules, the green and digital transitions or strategic autonomy in foreign policy. During the last years, regional groupings have taken shape and often led policy proposals in EU negotiations, from the Visegrad countries to the Baltics or the so-called “frugal” member states. Southern EU member states have often had a harder time coordinating their positions and forming a stable group for EU politics and policies. Ahead of an ambitious 2022 agenda in the EU and in view of the closing of the Conference on the Future of Europe, can southern member states articulate joint narratives, positions and policy proposals? What are their main priority areas for the future of the EU? And what reforms are needed for an effective post-pandemic recovery, transitions and strategic autonomy? This closed-door workshop will provide a discussion forum for leading experts and directors of Southern European think tanks, with a view to publish a joint policy paper on EU priorities for 2022 and beyond.