About Future Proofing Europe

Analysis

The Future Proofing Europe project aims to address, analyse, and communicate to a wider public the debates on a range of priority issues for  Ireland and EU over the period 2023-2026. As the title suggests, it seeks to identify and anticipate future developments, and to assist policy makers to develop strategic capacity, resilience and preparedness for future challenges.

The current geopolitical context is defined by a series of simultaneous crises which include war in Ukraine, migration, severe climate change, threats to the Rule of Law, the rise of the far-right and supply chain disorders, all of which require short term crisis management.

The Future Proofing Europe project seeks to foster mid- to long-term thinking by reframing debates on geopolitics, enlargement, democracy, migration in a new narrative of resilience and strategic preparedness for the known and unknown challenges ahead; it explores what Ireland would like the EU to look like in the future, what the key European policy issues will be, focusing also on the EU's role in a changing world and Ireland's role in a future EU.

The term of the project will encompass Ireland’s term as the first host of the trio of EU Presidencies: Ireland (July-December 2026), Lithuania (Jan-June 2027) and Greece (July-Dec 2027). Overall, the IIEA portal will provide analysis of the Irish Government’s approach to key policy issues and external challenges.

PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTS:

While IIEA publications will provide independent analysis of the priority themes in a variety of formats, IIEA members and the wider public will benefit from a rich choice of complementary public events with thought-leaders, high-level officials from EU and international institutions and with European, global and national political leaders.