With the global race for tech dominance and digital sovereignty set to intensify, we look at what the EU is doing to strengthen its fledgling but ambitious startup sector. We find that despite bold and proactive new steps, the creation of European unicorns will probably require bigger thinking than the EU can currently muster. Europe’s true strength, however, could lie in channeling the forces of technology strategically to help solve the social and environmental challenges that lie ahead.

The European Union wants to make its neighbourhood policy in the southern Mediterranean more dynamic from 2021. ” A democratic, more stable, greener and more prosperous Southern Neighbourhood” is the goal, as noted in the conclusions of the EU Council of December 11, 2020. The EU-27 is (re)setting this high standard for its actions and activities. 

Digital, but still face to face. Socially distanced, but still up close. Citizens link up with one another in small groups in a video conference, where they recount their experiences and develop joint suggestions for improvement. Between June and December 2020, Bertelsmann Stiftung—in cooperation with ten pilot municipalities—conducted local and transnational Digital Citizens’ Dialogues. We take stock of the outcome here.

The following list presents the results of our worldwide research by country ...

Good news from Europe in the midst of the pandemic: Europeans are very willing to adhere to the rules for combatting COVID-19 and to act as one to overcome the crisis. That is the finding from an eupinions study that surveyed 13,000 EU citizens. eupinions is our tool for researching public opinion across Europe. It is operated in partnership with the King Baudouin Foundation.

Another EU summit, another crisis; nothing new. The European heads of state and government are meeting this Thursday and the EU’s seemingly ever-expanding crisis agenda has reached the rule of law. Poland and Hungary are blocking the implementation of the EU budget and the European recovery plan. They protest against the idea of linking the allocation of EU funds to compliance with the rule of law in the Member States. Will there be another face-saving compromise for all, or is it different this time?

A large majority of EU citizens expect innovation and technological progress to have a positive impact on their lives over the next 15 years. With the coronavirus crisis, the desire for more innovation has grown appreciably, particularly with regard to the healthcare and long-term care sectors, the fight against climate change, and education. At the same time, Europeans are keenly aware of the competition they face in key technologies coming from the United States and China. European citizens thus support greater cooperation within Europe.

The corona crisis and its economic fallout are promoting a “reshoring” of supply chains by Europe’s businesses. Could the EU’s more immediate neighbours become alternative production sites for at least some of the goods now supplied by China and India? Our new Policy Brief weighs the pros and cons: A business location’s attractiveness is determined by more than just geographic proximity. Other factors also count, namely good governance, functioning state institutions and secure property rights.

Over the course of three days, 100 people from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Lithuania discussed how one might achieve a more democratic, greener and digital Europe. The EU Commissioners Margrethe Vestager and Virginijus Sinkevičius were not the only ones very impressed with the outcome. The first European digital citizens' dialogue was a success— repetition guaranteed.

The rule of law is a key prerequisite for a functioning democracy, social justice, freedom and enduring peace. Unfortunately, so far it has remained a pipe dream for many people in the countries on Europe’s periphery. Studies on transformation regularly cite corruption as a leading disruptive factor.