19
May
2026
Watch
EU governance under pressure – institutional responses to global challenges (debate)
Mr President, Vice‑President Šefčovič, dear colleagues, when citizens look at Europe today, many of them see two contradictory realities at the same time. On the one hand, they expect Europe to protect them. Protect them from war, from economic dependency, from geopolitical pressure, from insecurity in an increasingly unstable world. On the other hand, many people also feel that European decisions are becoming more distant from their own democratic influence. That Europe is often strong in producing rules, but too weak in making political responsibility visible. It is precisely between these two expectations that the European debate now takes place because the real question is no longer: do we need Europe or do we not? The real question is: how do we organise European capacity to act in a way that remains democratically accepted? Because one thing is clear: the world around us has fundamentally changed. War has returned to Europe. For the first time in decades, Europeans again understand that peace, prosperity and security cannot be taken for granted. Strategic dependencies are increasingly being weaponised and, in such a world, national capacity alone, colleagues, is no longer sufficient in many key areas. That is obvious. No Member State, colleagues – and I speak to this side, and I think you agree – on its own will be large enough to fully control geopolitical risks. Not in energy, not in technology, not in security. But something else is equally true. European integration can only succeed in the long term if citizens continue to feel that political decisions remain understandable, accountable and, where necessary, correctable. That is why we are holding this debate today, because the experience of the past decades also shows something important: where Europe has created clear common decision‑making procedures and structures, Europe is capable of delivering. The single market, trade policy, competition policy, the common currency – in these areas, Europe carries international weight because decisions can be taken jointly and implemented effectively. Where Europe remains institutionally fragmented, however, common strategic action becomes far more difficult. We see this in parts of foreign policy, security policy, energy policy. And yet, colleagues, we should be careful not to draw the wrong conclusions from this. Europe will not become a centralised unitary state and it does not need to become one. The motto of the United States of America is 'E pluribus unum'. 'Out of many, one'. Europeans have not achieved that, nor do they want to. Our motto is 'United in diversity' and that is a significant difference. Europe's strength has always been its ability to build common solutions where common action is necessary while preserving political and national diversity where diversity matters. That is why we must now have a pragmatic and honest discussion about how the European Union can become more capable of acting without losing democratic acceptance. In my view, this requires, above all, three things. First, European decisions need clear political responsibility. Citizens must be able to understand more clearly who prepares decisions, who supports them and who is politically accountable for them. The European Commission has evolved to a kind of government. It therefore needs to become both electable and removable, which is largely not the case today. Second, the European Parliament must be strengthened wherever democratic oversight and political correctability are concerned because democratic systems remain stable only if they remain capable of learning and adapting. And third, we should openly recognise that differentiated integration has always been part of the European project. Schengen did not begin with all Member States. Neither did the euro. Europe has often advanced precisely because some Member States were willing to move forward together in specific areas without undermining the unity of the Union as a whole. So, the key question today is not whether Europe should act. The key question is how Europe can remain capable of acting while also remaining democratically legitimate and politically accountable. This, colleagues, is why we turn today to the Council and the Commission with several questions. To conclude, the questions are: where do you see the greatest institutional limits to Europe's capacity to act within the current framework? Which reforms do you consider feasible with the existing Treaties? Where do you believe further institutional adaptation may become necessary? And how will you ensure that stronger European action always remains linked to democratic accountability, parliamentary oversight and a renewed trust of European citizens? Because, colleagues, Europe will only remain strong externally if it remains democratically trusted internally.