Berkley Center

The end of May in Europe brings the next round of European elections, where each of the 735 seats in the European Parliament will be up for grabs. What is different about these elections is that they are the first to happen since the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, a European Union treaty which has dramatically changed its leadership and the way the European Union functions. Without getting into all of the nitty-gritty of the changes, these elections and the ensuing changes to EU leadership are putting it at an interesting crossroads not seen in many years.

Globalization is a word that is thrown around a lot by the media, by the average citizen, and by academia. Europe, on the other hand is going through its own process of “Europeanization” as it decides where it will be going in the future. In these upcoming elections, so-called “Euroskeptic” parties—those that are wary of further European integration and a more centralized decision-making process in Brussels—are expected to increase their share of seats, which would make European action more difficult as the European Parliament takes on a bigger role in European affairs. On the other hand, pollsters are predicting the center-left coalition of Socialists and Democrats will win an outright majority, which would make Martin Shulz the next president of the powerful European Commission.

All of the political nuances aside, these coming elections represent a very different political scene in Europe than has been seen in the past. The heads of the major European political parties have agreed to participate in televised debates, showing a move towards making European politics closer to the people. Furthermore, these elections are the first that will include the European Union’s newest member: Croatia. Amidst all of these changes, all of the candidates are making youth outreach and youth employment their main focus, underscoring the importance of building an educated and prosperous youth in an aging Europe.

As I am studying in Brussels, the seat of power of the European Union, these upcoming elections have had a sort of Belgian bias: elections in Belgium have now been legally changed in order to coincide with European elections; every political office in Belgium will be up for grabs that day as well. Additionally, the outgoing president of the Council of Ministers, Herman van Rompuy, is a former Belgian prime minister, and the liberals’ candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, Guy Verhofstadt, is also a former Belgian prime minister. Political parties are starting their mobilization early on as parties have already starting distributing fliers on campus to engage young voters.

Returning to the matter of the ongoing process of Europeanization, all major candidates for the Commission presidency advocate for further European integration. This may upset certain EU member-states who are wary or against further integration, but that seems to be the way forward. Among the most-cited reasons to advocate for a more integrated Europe is the benefit it provides the smaller member-states. In a recent interview with a local Brussels newspaper, outgoing president Van Rompuy mentioned how a strong and unified Europe helps smaller, less-economically-developed countries benefit from trade with the world’s largest players. The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership—in other words a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States—will arguably benefit the smaller states more by opening up their markets to the United States, and vice-versa. Additionally, there has been an investment agreement signed with China, so every EU country can now invest in China. Under normal circumstances, Belgium, while a developed country, has a tiny economy in comparison to both the United States and China, but because it is part of the European Union, it will be reaping many benefits soon.

Europe is at a crossroads, and the upcoming elections show that more than ever. Young voters will hopefully get involved in a way that will show that they are ready to be part of the next generation of Europe’s leadership, or else risk getting left behind.