The year 2023 has provided further proof of the importance of European unity. Even after – especially after – the attack on Ukraine in violation of international law, the European Union (EU) offers the most robust response to the current threats and, more than ever, the common promise of a brighter future in the 21st century. Against a multipolar international backdrop, one of growing rivalry among powers, tackling multiple crises like war, climate change, social inequality and the rise of populism poses the biggest challenge to have faced the EU since its inception. The European people will go to the polls in May 2024 to determine the composition of the European Parliament. In doing so, they will be deciding on the EU’s political priorities and its capacity for action. A lot is at stake. 

For the twelfth time, experts in European politics devote this report to the various European political projects currently on the table. All the papers were written between spring and summer 2023. At the time of the report’s publication, the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023 was still in progress; it was therefore too early to register its results.