TOWARDS A PROGRESSIVE AGENDA FOR THE EU?

Abstract

The European Union is facing serious challenges that test its solidarity and unity in the age of insecurity and anxiety. The Eurozone debt crisis, the so-called “migration crisis” and recently the health crisis and economic downturn instigated by COVID-19 have posed the most formidable challenges to the European project and the EU member states. Given a series of crises and challenging questions facing the EU in less than a decade, it seems timely to discuss and evaluate a progressive vision for the future of the EU. This paper argues that the pandemic has shown the importance and urgency of the core progressive objectives and opened a window of opportunity for progressive politics to advance a new agenda for the EU based on social justice, inclusiveness, equality, and pluralism. This new agenda has the potential to rejuvenate European integration while also allowing the progressives to confront the rise of the radical right in Europe. The paper particularly seeks to address to what extent progressive politics could shift the political agenda away from migration and security issues, create a new movement based on new thinking and a narrative in the face of COVID-19 and take an active part in the transformation of European politics and the EU.