Stress-testing to promote the resilience of EU policies

Stress-testing is a promising foresight policy tool that can support the design of EU policies able to withstand the shocks and challenges of both the present day and the years to come. This study explores how the European Parliament could use stress-tests to identify weak points in EU legislation and avenues for further EU action. The study draws on the findings of a stress-test of EU rail transport policy and recommendations from an expert practitioner of foresight and regulatory policy. It finds that stress-tests across different policy areas could boost the European Parliament's role as co-legislator in the European Union, especially in the agenda-setting and law-making phases of the legislative cycle.