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Eurofound Talks: Shaping the future of European democracy
On 6–9 June, millions of Europeans will participate in shaping the future of European democracy via the European Parliament elections. An important moment, these elections come in a pivotal year for the democratic world, as more than 50 countries will hold a national or regional election.
In a special edition of Eurofound Talks, Mary McCaughey is joined by Eurofound Executive Director Ivailo Kalfin and Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, to look at the political, social and economic drivers in Europe and how they might influence voters at the ballot box in June.
Mr Krastev participates in the episode shortly after delivering Eurofound's Annual Lecture 2024, Living, working and voting in Europe, reflecting on the challenges and opportunities the EU is currently facing against the background of today’s complex geopolitical environment.
Much has happened since the last European Parliament elections in 2019: the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly shook EU societies, followed by the war in Ukraine which triggered a surge in energy and food prices. This, in turn, ignited a cost-of-living crisis and now we have further escalation of conflict in the middle east.
The forthcoming elections will be a litmus test of public sentiment following this series of challenges. Which issues have most shaped people’s lives? How do citizen’s view the EU's roles and achievements? How engaged are people with the institutions that shape public policy?
Together, they look at how local issues might influence European decision-making, how demographic change is shaping global trends and how the ‘five tribes’ of public concern could manifest themselves into the future.
Listen to the episode on the Eurofound website, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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