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Building a European defence union is at the top of the EU's policy agenda. It is essential to preserving the security and wellbeing of EU society from current and future geopolitical threats. A reflection on the efficiency and quality of defence spending is a crucial first step in this process. Based on research carried out for the European Parliamentary Research Service, this report investigates the potential gains from deeper European cooperation on defence spending that leverages the continent's ...

Progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has been insufficient, not least because of shocks such as the COVID 19 pandemic and recent wars. The cost of this lack of progress is borne by 'least developed countries' – low-income countries with low indicators of socio-economic development, as defined by the UN. This study reviews the European Union's role in policies that affect poverty in these contexts. It identifies 12 challenges that could be addressed to some extent by further ...

The European Union stepped up its action in the area of health – a shared competence between the EU and its Member States – in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Yet, the EU lacks a joint health policy that recognises health as a public good. This study investigates three areas where there is high added-value potential from a joint EU health policy: research and development; the availability of prescription medicines; and preventive healthcare. EU action in these areas could generate benefits for ...

Global challenges – including climate change, geopolitical conflict, erosion of democratic principles and social inequalities – affect people's daily lives and future prospects. A collective European response over the next 10 years could help to address these challenges – and offer benefits worth up to €3 trillion a year. This represents around 18 % of EU gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to €6 700 per citizen every year. Referring to the European Parliament's work during the 2019-2024 term ...

This study has been drawn up by the European Added Value Unit within the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services. It is part of a research project to better define the concepts of the cost of non-Europe and of European added value. The study recounts the development of these concepts and specifically how they have been used to support the European Parliament's work in setting the legislative agenda. It also presents their theoretical underpinnings and the main ...

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 ...

Although European integration is a key driver of growth, peace, environmental protection and social prosperity, persistent challenges remain and potential crises can be anticipated. Looking forward, a number of possible pathways are open to Europe. The European Parliament favours the path of ambitious, collective EU action, where significant potential gains can be realised, not only for today, but also for various possible future scenarios. This study seeks to support the European Parliament in defining ...

Corruption poses a significant threat in the European Union and can contribute towards an erosion of democracy and the rule of law, especially during times of crisis. The European Union can do more to tackle corruption and curb its negative impacts on society. This report presents a quantitative analysis of the potential gains from further EU action to tackle corruption, estimating that it could generate up to €58.5 billion per year. Other gains could also be expected in terms of reinforcing democracy ...

This briefing provides a pre-legislative synthesis of the positions of national, regional and local governmental organisations on the European Commission's initiative on equality bodies, which have been established in every EU Member State to tackle discrimination. It forms part of an EPRS series offering a summary of the pre-legislative state of play and advance consultation on a range of key European Commission priorities during its 5-year term. It seeks to present the state of affairs, to examine ...

This European added value assessment seeks to support a European Parliament legislative own-initiative report on digitalisation and administrative law (2021/2161(INL)), asking the European Commission to present a legislative proposal on an EU law on administrative procedure. The study investigates the current state of play with regard to digitalisation and the use of digital tools in EU public administration. The analysis identifies five regulatory gaps and their impact on citizens and businesses ...