In Alsace, cross-border cooperation is a reality experienced on a daily basis. Mobility, health, employment, education and even ecological and industrial transitions are all issues that transcend borders and require joint solutions. Drawing on its history and its location at the heart of Europe, Alsace illustrates how cooperation with Germany and Switzerland strengthens regions and gives concrete meaning to the European project, whilst also giving rise to new challenges for the years ahead.

A European security strategy for peace
The European Union must strengthen its security in the face of current threats whilst remaining true to its commitment to peace. In the view of COMECE, and in line with recent statements by Pope Leo XIV, the future European security strategy should combine defence capabilities, diplomacy, conflict prevention and international cooperation. It should guarantee respect for human dignity and international law, and provide an ethical framework for military technologies. The aim is to ensure a just and lasting peace by also addressing the root causes of conflict.

Faced with the geopolitical, economic, security and democratic challenges that are reshaping the continent, the Foundation presents a podcast (Station Schuman) offering analysis and insight into the major issues facing the European Union. War has returned to Europe's doorstep, tensions are mounting, hybrid threats are on the rise, and nuclear deterrence is once again taking centre stage in the strategic balance of power. In this first episode, Admiral Bernard Rogel (2S) analyses the major challenges facing Europe: the future of French deterrence, maritime security, European strategic autonomy, and the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Europe must find new ways to fund its rearmament to strengthen its security and strategic autonomy, despite public finances that are already under severe strain. This effort will need better coordination of investment, greater support for the European defence industry and a reduction in dependence on external suppliers, with a view to transforming the increase in military spending into genuine European strategic power.

Whilst the G7 leaders, meeting in Evian from 15 to 17 June, placed security, economic stability and geopolitical challenges at the heart of international discussions, Europeans, too, express strong expectations for protection and collective action in the face of contemporary crises. While they have greater confidence in the European Union, they still feel it is too detached from their concerns and are calling for more joint action on defence, energy, health and migration. This expectation reflects a wish to respond collectively to challenges that individual states struggle to manage on their own. To strengthen public support, the European Union must better showcase its achievements and engage more closely with its citizens.

Agenda

Cross-border cooperation central to the European project

A European security strategy for peace

Europe and its response to the return of power relations

Europe must finance its Power

Europeans caught between trust and the need for protection: the paradox of a Union that is "necessary but distant"