What do young Spaniards from Castilla-La-Mancha think about the future of the EU? How do citizens of the twin cities Munich and Bordeaux envisage the digital future of their home towns? What are the shared priorities of citizens of Pforzheim in Germany and Györ-Moson-Sopran in Hungary when it comes to European values and democracy? What support do citizens from EU border regions want—for example in Lower Silesia, Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany? The Conference on the Future of Europe is a platform for European citizens to discuss the future of Europe at local, regional and transnational level. We support these dialogues.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021 will discuss future measures to combat climate change. Significantly more commitment is needed to reduce CO₂ emissions and achieve the 1.5°C target formulated in the Paris Climate Agreement - especially from the industrialized countries, which bear a major responsibility.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021 will discuss future measures to combat climate change. Significantly more commitment is needed to reduce CO₂ emissions and achieve the 1.5°C target formulated in the Paris Climate Agreement - especially from the industrialized countries, which bear a major responsibility.

Since the 2011 Arabellion, the EU has been strongly committed economically and politically in Tunisia to help the birthplace of the Arab Spring through the difficult period of transforming from a dictatorship into a representative democracy. Now the Tunisian democracy experiment is under stress. At the same time, financial collapse is looming. A challenge for the European Neighbourhood Policy.

We invite you to an online discussion with Herman Van Rompuy, former President of the European Council. In our "Conference Conversation", we discuss the future of democracy in Europe with the Belgian top politician. The event is part of the "Conference Observatory", a joint initiative of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the European Policy Centre, the King Baudouin Foundation and Stiftung Mercator.

In anticipation of both the upcoming European Youth Event and the launch of the first of the Conference’s European Citizens’ Panels, this edition of Conference Conversations focused on civil society and citizen and youth engagement on the future of Europe.

In the second election attempt this year, there is still no sign that anti-corruption or anti-establishment parties will manage to replace the corrupt Bulgarian political elite. Will the EU finally do something to support the corruption-ridden Bulgarians?

Hardly any topic gets people more riled than the price of gasoline and diesel. A few additional cents at the pump – then tempers flare and the political grandstanding begins. Surging fuel costs are caused by constantly rising carbon prices, which are directly affected by the increasingly ambitious climate policies adopted by many countries and the EU. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy conducted a simulation on behalf of the Bertelsmann Stiftung to see how an increase of $50 per ton of CO₂ would affect carbon emissions worldwide, and which long-term income effects would occur in different countries.

The EU is giving citizens an unprecedented opportunity to participate in the development of European policymaking. In the course of the coming year, the “Conference on the Future of Europe” will allow citizens and politicians to discuss EU priorities using new citizen participation formats. Together with other foundations and think tanks, we have created a “Conference Observatory” to monitor and support this process. 

Innovation is crucial to prosperity, and to solving the urgent societal problems of our time. However, Germany needs more innovative capacity if it wants to continue to keep pace with other countries and regions across the globe – particularly with regard to cutting-edge technologies. A Bertelsmann Stiftung study examining good practices worldwide shows how fostering innovative capacity to increase competitiveness while advancing societal progress can unlock innovative potential.