In about a year, the EU will be heading to elections following a European Commission and European Parliament term marked by public health, climate, energy and cost-of-living crises which have impacted disproportionately those on lower incomes. Improving the resilience of our societies to the causes and consequences of these crises remains a formidable challenge for the coming decades and the critical stake for these elections. Significant reforms in a number of policy areas are currently being debated. But how far do EU citizens trust political actors and institutions such as the European and national parliaments in the context of these crises? Has political trust been varying between and within EU member states and if so, how and why?
In this policy workshop, the Hertie School Jacques Delors Centre and the ETUI combine insights on the unequal impact of recent crises on different groups in society with the findings of a research project on EU citizens’ trust to political institutions and their perceptions of societal and political cohesion. The workshop will investigate which direction EU and national policies should take in order to avoid a political trust gap between the have’s and the have-not’s and it will also sketch the threat this would pose for societal and political cohesion in Europe.
You can find the draft agenda here.
The event is in-person only. Please register here before Monday, 5 June, midday.