We are entering the final stretch for the European elections. What is the biggest challenge for the EU in the coming years? Experienced MEPs talk to DW. Economy, defense armour, industry and innovation, but also the containment of extreme or Eurosceptic forces are the big “bets” for Europe in the next five years . That is, in the next term of the European Parliament, which will more or less coincide with the term of the new Commission. This follows from the statements of experienced MEPs to DW. Which political group can best respond to all this?

Of course, everyone has their arguments. The European People’s Party (EPP), the “political family” of the European Center Right, projects itself as the pro-European party par excellence, following in the footsteps of Robert Schumann and Konrad Adenauer. In light of developments in Ukraine, team leader Manfred Weber warns that “in the next five years the question will be whether we can maintain our current industrial infrastructure and prosperity. Besides, Europe should be able to defend itself. In this regard, our priority will be a single market for the defense industry.”

What about the “green transition”?

Big ambitions, but a small purse will have the EU in the next five years. In theory, defense spending will increase, but without loosening the fiscal discipline of the Stability Pact. Anton Hofreiter, head of the European Affairs Committee of the German Parliament, estimates that a European Defense Fund of (at least) 500 billion euros is needed. At the same time, however, the ambitious and costly goals of the “green transition” are maintained, which was one of the major challenges of the previous five years in Europe.

Under pressure from claims such as the recent farmers’ mobilizations, some of the ambitious climate targets have begun to back off in recent months. Will the European Greens, who have left their mark on Brussels as never before in the past five years, but polls say they expect losses at the polls in June, fly the flag?

Speaking to reporters during the latest session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Terri Reidke, one of the leaders of the European Greens, makes it clear that her political group will stick to the agreed, but she suspects that many member states would prefer to change the agenda.

“We have just finished the discussion on the conclusions of the Council” says the German MEP “and you too will see that in this strategic agenda the ‘green transition’ is not mentioned, only in the margins. We, as Greens, disagree. It is our agenda, not only for the environment, but also for the competitiveness of the European economy, which cannot lag behind green technologies. In electrification and solar panel technology, we saw Europe lagging behind other countries. This must not happen again…”

“United, not divided Europe”

Let’s listen to a Greek voice. PASOK MEP Nikos Papandreou sees not one, but three important “bets” for the next day, after the European elections. “The first is a common defense policy,” the Greek MEP told DW. “We are going there, but without solving it yet, because the DNA of Europe was peace after World War II. Let’s not always expect America to solve our problems, as Emmanuel Macron said. The other is the continuation of the effort to combat climate change. And a bet of progressive forces is the welfare state.”

For Nikos Papandreou, the major question is whether we are moving towards a united or a divided Europe. “That’s what’s at stake,” he points out. “And with the powers in France and Germany not looking at Europe with a good eye, we are in danger…”.

The question of how the pro-European political forces can or should deal with the extreme, divisive or Euro-sceptic parties that are gaining strength in the opinion polls and may have a key role in the seats of Strasbourg and Brussels in the next five years is still divisive. Is political isolation or a targeted confrontation preferable? Answering this question from DW, the head of the European Socialists, Irace García Pérez, points out: “We have to face them. With arguments and policies. Citizens need to understand what political positions we have and what threats arise from the specific political parties. But warnings are not enough. A positive agenda is needed in the election campaign, an agenda that offers alternative solutions without any complex, with self-confidence…”.