White Paper on the future of Europe and the way forward

On the 24th June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union by a margin of 52-48. This set the EU on track for its first departing member in its history, and highlighted the already existing pressure to reform the EU or potentially lose everything it has achieved so far. To that end, the EU started a reflection process on what direction the EU should go in the future.

On the 1st March 2017, the European Commission presented its white paper on the future of Europe, outlining 5 various paths the EU could take following the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. In summary, the options are as follows:

The EU should remain as it is The EU should only be the single market Those that want to do more can do (also referred to as "2 speed") The EU should do less more effectively Everyone working more together On the 25th March 2017, the European leaders renewed their commitment to Europe in the Rome Agenda, which also highlighted areas of reform for the European integration project.

Over the rest of 2017, there will be various other debates and white papers between governments, institutions and citizens of the EU to find out where the EU should go in the future. The plan is for the European Council to adopt conclusions on the way forward in the December 2017 European Council meeting, after Juncker's State of the Union speech in September. This will then allow for action to be taken in time for the European Parliament elections of 2019.

Europe forms an ever decreasing proportion of the world population. It is forecasted that in 2060, the European continent will barely contain 5% of the population of Earth. United through a European Union, we can continue to play a role in the world. Separate, we may be just tools of the superpowers.