European Elections 2019: Structuring the Debate

These elections come in a context of dwindling confidence in the legitimacy and certainty of “European democracy” and a surge of political forces openly hostile to the continuation of the European project.

In 2009, when the Lisbon Treaty came into force, the EU appeared to be among the world’s most stable regions, fully up to speed with globalization. Ten years on, this is no longer the case. Europe has fallen prey to a series of profound doubts, which threaten its cohesion and raise questions about its future.

Consisting of 17 short texts, this new Ifri analysis does not present an overview of the political forces in Europe on the eve of the elections, but rather seeks to succinctly identify the key issues facing the EU in the short, medium, and long term, at a time when it appears more fragile than ever. Clearly, its oft-proclaimed disintegration would transform European countries into third-rate actors, set against the logics of power currently at work and the weakening of multilateralism.