EU governance under pressure, institutional responses to global challenges.

We are publishing the remarks made by members of the Spinelli Group during the debate in the European Parliament’s plenary session on May 19, 2026, on “EU governance under pressure – institutional responses to global challenges” at the presence of the EU Commissioner Šefčovič and the Member of Cyprotic Goverment in representation of the Council of the European Union.

The members of the Spinelli Group that have done an interventions are: Sven Simon EPP AFCO Chair, Juan Fernando López Aguilar S&D, Sandro Gozi, Renew Group, Reinier Van Lanschot, Verts/ALE Group, Gabriele Bischoff S&D, Damian Boeselager (Verts/ALE), Hilde Vautmans (Renew), Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE), Brando Benifei (S&D), Benedetta Scuderi (Verts/ALE), Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle (Renew),  Klára Dobrev (S&D), Kai Tegethoff (Verts/ALE), Lukas Mandl (EPP),  Anna Strolenberg (Verts/ALE)

Sven Simon, author. – Mr President, Vice‑President Šefčovič, dear colleagues, when citizens look at Europe today, many of them see two contradictory realities at the same time. On the one hand, they expect Europe to protect them. Protect them from war, from economic dependency, from geopolitical pressure, from insecurity in an increasingly unstable world. On the other hand, many people also feel that European decisions are becoming more distant from their own democratic influence. That Europe is often strong in producing rules, but too weak in making political responsibility visible.

It is precisely between these two expectations that the European debate now takes place because the real question is no longer: do we need Europe or do we not? The real question is: how do we organise European capacity to act in a way that remains democratically accepted? Because one thing is clear: the world around us has fundamentally changed. War has returned to Europe. For the first time in decades, Europeans again understand that peace, prosperity and security cannot be taken for granted.

Strategic dependencies are increasingly being weaponised and, in such a world, national capacity alone, colleagues, is no longer sufficient in many key areas. That is obvious. No Member State, colleagues – and I speak to this side, and I think you agree – on its own will be large enough to fully control geopolitical risks. Not in energy, not in technology, not in security.

But something else is equally true. European integration can only succeed in the long term if citizens continue to feel that political decisions remain understandable, accountable and, where necessary, correctable. That is why we are holding this debate today, because the experience of the past decades also shows something important: where Europe has created clear common decision‑making procedures and structures, Europe is capable of delivering. The single market, trade policy, competition policy, the common currency – in these areas, Europe carries international weight because decisions can be taken jointly and implemented effectively.

Where Europe remains institutionally fragmented, however, common strategic action becomes far more difficult. We see this in parts of foreign policy, security policy, energy policy. And yet, colleagues, we should be careful not to draw the wrong conclusions from this. Europe will not become a centralised unitary state and it does not need to become one.

The motto of the United States of America is 'E pluribus unum'. 'Out of many, one'. Europeans have not achieved that, nor do they want to. Our motto is 'United in diversity' and that is a significant difference. Europe's strength has always been its ability to build common solutions where common action is necessary while preserving political and national diversity where diversity matters. That is why we must now have a pragmatic and honest discussion about how the European Union can become more capable of acting without losing democratic acceptance.

In my view, this requires, above all, three things. First, European decisions need clear political responsibility. Citizens must be able to understand more clearly who prepares decisions, who supports them and who is politically accountable for them. The European Commission has evolved to a kind of government. It therefore needs to become both electable and removable, which is largely not the case today.

Second, the European Parliament must be strengthened wherever democratic oversight and political correctability are concerned because democratic systems remain stable only if they remain capable of learning and adapting.

And third, we should openly recognise that differentiated integration has always been part of the European project. Schengen did not begin with all Member States. Neither did the euro. Europe has often advanced precisely because some Member States were willing to move forward together in specific areas without undermining the unity of the Union as a whole.

So, the key question today is not whether Europe should act. The key question is how Europe can remain capable of acting while also remaining democratically legitimate and politically accountable. This, colleagues, is why we turn today to the Council and the Commission with several questions.

To conclude, the questions are: where do you see the greatest institutional limits to Europe's capacity to act within the current framework? Which reforms do you consider feasible with the existing Treaties? Where do you believe further institutional adaptation may become necessary? And how will you ensure that stronger European action always remains linked to democratic accountability, parliamentary oversight and a renewed trust of European citizens? Because, colleagues, Europe will only remain strong externally if it remains democratically trusted internally.

  Juan Fernando López Aguilar, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Presidente, comisario Šefčovič, «La gobernanza de la Unión bajo presión» es el título de este debate en un desorden global, entre turbulencias geopolíticas que desafían como nunca antes la razón de ser de Europa, fundada, regida y limitada por su propio ordenamiento, es decir, por el Derecho.

Y, en paralelo, una Europa con una legalidad internacional, aprendiendo de las lecciones de la devastación de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Europa se desmorona ante nuestros ojos bajo la presión de quienes reivindican el unilateralismo y la ley del más fuerte. Es imprescindible que la Unión Europea tenga así una voz digna de ser escuchada —ojalá respetada, pero sobre todo una Europa con algo que decir—.

Y esto no es posible bajo las actuales reglas de la unanimidad. Si no es posible con los 27 Estados miembros actuales, menos aún lo será ante la perspectiva de la ampliación, con diez Estados en la lista de espera. Por eso, es imprescindible que reformemos los Tratados, que es lo que pidió el Parlamento Europeo en 2023.

Se trata de realizar una reforma institucional que supere la regla disfuncional de la unanimidad e imponga —por fin— mayorías cualificadas, no solamente para dotar a la Unión Europea de sus propios recursos y recursos propios, sino para utilizar el endeudamiento que financie las nuevas ambiciones sin desmoronar lo que ha sido la razón de ser de Europa —que son su solidaridad, política regional y política de cohesión—.

Pero, sobre todo, una reforma institucional que además refuerce al Parlamento Europeo —por fin— con una iniciativa legislativa propia en sus poderes de investigación, de control de la Comisión, turno de preguntas, control parlamentario. Se trata, por tanto, de regular un relanzamiento en toda regla del Parlamento Europeo.

La conclusión está al alcance de cualquiera: nunca como ahora la Unión Europea ha estado tan sola y al mismo tiempo ha sido tan dependiente de sí misma en la globalización; de sí misma y de los Estados miembros, que no pueden ser solamente una coalición o una Unión dentro de la Unión, como se ha propuesto últimamente, sino que tiene que ser la voluntad política de ser la Europa de los Estados miembros y de quienes aspiran a serlo.

De eso depende, ahora más que nunca, el futuro de la UE.

Sandro Gozi, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Mr President, Europe must become independent. To achieve this, a true European defence is no longer a choice; it is an emergency.

But arms alone will not secure Europe's future. Without political and democratic unity, there can be no European power. That is why new European governance and also Treaty revisions are now indispensable. We need a new transnational coalition, cross-party, across institutions, uniting leaders, pro-European forces and citizens across the continent. So my question is whether the Commissioner and the Minister are ready to join this coalition.

We stand for a Europe of political freedom, a Europe where those ready to move forward are no longer held hostage by national vetoes. Without flexibility, we would still be waiting for the single currency. The moment has come to build up a new political union within the current Union. A Union finally fit for the global challenges. History will not wait. Europe must choose: power, unity and action – or decline. There is no more time for hesitation.

Reinier Van Lanschot, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, there is a man living in a cave. He has a piece of paper saying this is his cave and that he has sovereignty. But what will he do when people enter his cave and threaten to kick him out? Europeans don't want a sovereign cave. They understand real sovereignty is only achieved when you can actually shape your surroundings.

This debate is about the EU's institutional response to global challenges. That's the understatement of the year! Europe is under attack and the institutional response is zero. No Treaty change, no extra democracy, and we remain paralysed. Meanwhile, Trump, Putin, Xi and the tech oligarchs have one thing in common: they are all afraid of a united Europe, so they are trying to destroy us. And the far right nationalists in this parliament are helping them do it.

But what do we want? Nine out of ten Europeans want a more united Europe. How? Decide faster without vetoes. Defend ourselves with a European army. Elect a European Government that answers to all Europeans. The European moment is now. National leaders: losers have excuses, winners have a plan. So climb out of your caves and make a plan. If you care so much about sovereignty, make us sovereign. The only way to do it is together. From Portugal to Ukraine, let's create the United States of Europe!

Gabriele Bischoff (S&D). – Herr Präsident! Erich Kästner hat mal gesagt: Es gibt nichts Gutes, außer man tut es. Und ich glaube, die Bürgerinnen und Bürger spüren, dass die EU derzeit sehr schwach aufgestellt ist in der Welt gegenüber Trump, Putin und anderen. Aber sie spüren auch, dass Europa eigentlich die Kraft hätte, dass es eigentlich die Möglichkeit hätte zur Stärke und zu mehr Handlungsfähigkeit. Aber, und das ist ein dickes Aber, es fehlt an Mut. Und leider muss ich sagen, es fehlt Europa auch an Selbstbewusstsein. Dabei ist der europäische Moment jetzt. Der ist nicht morgen. Und er ist auch nicht übermorgen. Und wir diskutieren, sorry, Passerelle, Vertragsänderungen seit mehreren Legislaturperioden. Aber, um zurück zu Kästner zu kommen, wir tun nichts.

Und deshalb erwarten wir von der Kommission schon mehr Unterstützung, mehr Initiativen und hier nicht weiter so zu zaudern. Denn wir hören die Worte, aber wir sehen die Taten nicht. Wir erwarten vom Rat auch tatsächlich nicht einfach business as usual – denn was Sie beschrieben haben, ist ja nichts anderes –, sondern wirklich auch Schritte und Mut zu Reformen. Ich finde es gut, dass Sie die Erweiterung genannt haben. Aber dann auch mit Konzepten zu kommen. Und an all die, die sagen, ach, nur die Einstimmigkeit: Wir haben doch gesehen, zu welchen wirklichen Herausforderungen es kommt, wenn Einzelne alles blockieren können in einem Moment, wo Europa geeint handeln muss. Und deshalb ist es wichtig, diese Veto-Optionen für Blockierer und deren Trittbrettfahrer zu beenden.

Europa kann mehr und es kann seine Bürgerinnen zusammen besser schützen. Aber, um noch einmal mit Schuman zu reden, ohne schöpferische Anstrengungen, die der Größe der Bedrohungen entsprechen, kann Europa nicht aus seiner Dauerkrise kommen. Und deshalb – mehr Mut und mehr Selbstbewusstsein.

(Die Rednerin ist damit einverstanden, auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“ zu antworten.)

Damian Boeselager (Verts/ALE), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Frau Bischoff, erst mal wollte ich mich bedanken, weil Sie sich im letzten Mandat und auch in diesem für die Veränderungen der europäischen Verträge so stark einsetzen.

Ich frage mich aber trotzdem: Wir haben als Europäisches Parlament schon Vertragsveränderungen verlangt. Wir haben Artikel 48 ausgelöst. Es ist eigentlich gar keine Wahl mehr, ob der Rat, ob die Regierungschefs sich zusammensetzen und tatsächlich darüber abstimmen, dass wir diese Verträge verändern oder eben nicht. Also, ist es nicht das große Versagen des Rates, dass er eigentlich gerade vertragsbrüchig ist, weil er eben nicht darüber abstimmt, ob wir die Verträge öffnen?

Und was muss in Deutschland noch passieren, damit die Bundesregierung das auch versteht?

Gabriele Bischoff (S&D), Antwort auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Ich habe das ja beschrieben: Wir haben es mit einem Aussitzen zu tun im Rat. Deshalb ist es wirklich auch die Verantwortung des Rates, und zwar auch der Staats- und Regierungschefs, dass sie dafür, dass Europa im Moment nicht handlungsfähig ist, dass es so eine schwache Rolle abgibt, auch die Verantwortung übernehmen.

Wir plädieren ja seit Langem dafür, dass sie endlich die Vorschläge aufgreifen und zumindest mal diskutieren – selbst dazu ist es nicht gekommen. Wir hatten in Deutschland Initiativen – Deutschland und Frankreich zusammen – für Vertragsänderungen, und ich hoffe, dass es auch weiter neue Vorschläge der jetzigen Regierung gibt.

Hilde Vautmans (Renew). – Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, what a lively debate. I heard very good interventions. The first one, of course, from my colleague Sandro Gozi and then from Van Lanschot. Very good. I also heard some interventions which I didn't like. I don't know where to look, but it was more on that side.

(The speaker gestured to the right)

I think colleagues Sandro and Van Lanschot, you were right. It is the moment now. Europe has to deliver – and we're not delivering: we are always too little, too late, too slow, not big enough. The time has come to renew Europe. Renew Europe, reform Europe! And we know what we have to do. Because that is also what our citizens ask; our citizens said deliver.

So we have to abolish unanimity, make Europe strong and united again. And then last week we had the child born: we have the working group on a European army, here in this House. So for me, I just came back from Africa. There there is a lion, President, a lion. Let's have the political courage of a lion and decide on the European army.

Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, dear colleagues, when we as Europeans last discussed how the European Union should function was 25 years ago. It was a very different world. It was a world where we could still entrust our lives to the Americans, where democracy, social market economy, freedoms were still spreading in this world.

Well, we live in a different world now. We have seen since, for example, a head of state offer his veto to our adversaries, to wield the veto at the negotiation table on behalf of Vladimir Putin. In this situation, citizens are realising that we need to change the European Union. We have never had such majorities for changing the European Union, for working closer together.

But also, we have never had such weak answers to that from the governments and from the heads of state. We have adopted Treaty change proposals and you don't even discuss it with us. You can dismiss these proposals, you can qualify them as bad ideas, but at least sit down and discuss these proposals with us – how to make Europe stronger.

Brando Benifei (S&D). – Mr President, Europe's moment is now. Forty years after Altiero Spinelli has died, his message remains as clear as ever: Europe moves forward only when it finds the courage to become a federal union.

I want the European Commission, the President of this Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, not just to come here every September for the State of the Union, saying that we need to reform the Union, that we need the Treaty change, and then nothing happens because the Council does not listen to the Commission. Challenge publicly the Council on starting this Treaty reform – that is what is needed today to deliver on what the citizens are asking us – to not have any more a veto-driven confederation. Instead of deciding on fiscal capacity, on defence, on decarbonisation, on protection of their living standards, we want the Treaty reform.

But we can also start with some pragmatic moves: passerelle clauses, enhanced cooperation, even intergovernmental cooperation under the democratic control of the European Parliament. But please do something – do something.

 Benedetta Scuderi (Verts/ALE). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, eccoci a Strasburgo, dove dobbiamo venire ogni mese spendendo centinaia di milioni di soldi pubblici, perché, per meri egoismi nazionali, non abbiamo una sede unica.

Ma un'Europa così dove pensa di andare? L'Europa di 27 governi che continuano a bloccare le decisioni che il popolo chiede, dai diritti sociali alle libertà civili, dalla politica estera alla fiscalità comune.

State mettendo il veto a un'Europa libera e indipendente, difendendo una sovranità assoluta ci impoverite e ci rendete fragili. E così, davanti a guerre, genocidi e la distruzione del sistema di diritto che avevamo creato, l'Europa rimane inerme, schiacciata dalla sua burocrazia, dalle sue divisioni.

Ma è proprio nelle crisi che dobbiamo trovare il coraggio di andare oltre. L'Europa è nata dal coraggio di chi, combattendo contro il fascismo, ha immaginato un progetto di pace e giustizia.

Presidente von der Leyen, si assuma la responsabilità che questo momento storico richiede: un processo costituente per un'Europa federale, dove il Parlamento sia il cuore pulsante di questa democrazia, con un governo eletto senza veti e con una voce unica.

Klára Dobrev (S&D). – Elnök Úr! Hogy mennyire elegem van a populista jobboldal hazug szövegeiből! Szuverenitás, nemzeti érdek, harsogják, miközben kizárólag csak a saját pecsenyéjüket sütögetik. Ja és nem, még egyébként segítségül hívják azokat a nagy milliárdos cégeket és multikat, akik imádják, hogy gyengítik Európát, hiszen csak egy erős Európa tudná megvédeni a bolygót és az embereket a profitéhségüktől, és közben nem veszik észre, hogy a világ körülöttünk kezd szétesni.

A gazdagok gazdagabbak, a szegények szegényebbek lettek az elmúlt évtizedekben. A bolygónk haldoklik, Trump egymás után indítja el a nemzetközi konfliktusokat, és egyiket sem tudja lezárni. Ráadásul, mondjuk a mesterséges intelligencia vágtat felénk, mint egy fekete ló, és nem látom senkiben a bátorságot, hogy meg merné fogni a kantárt. Mondják már meg nekem, melyik az a nemzetállam, amely képes ezektől a problémáktól egyedül megvédeni az állampolgárokat? Az európai pillanat most jött el! Meg kell szabadulnunk az Európát gyengítő vétótól, meg kell erősítenünk az európai együttműködést! Én Európai Egyesült Államoknak hívom.

 Kai Tegethoff (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, a young woman in Madrid stares at her phone at midnight, wondering how rent suddenly takes 70 % of her of her salary. Thousands of kilometres away in Berlin, a young man is doing the exact same maths, feeling the exact same panic in his stomach.

Because despite what national leaders and far-right politicians are telling you, your struggles are European struggles. From Porto to Tallinn, from Naples to Kraków, Europeans face the same reality: energy bills rising fast, AI destroying jobs and calling it progress, climate anxiety, wars burning across the world and governments that have no answers to any of this.

When national leaders think small, the winners are always the same: multinational landlords, corporate polluters, billionaires profiting from our division. The European moment is now. The moment for a United States of Europe is now. Our struggles are the same. Our solutions must be too.

Lukas Mandl (PPE). – Herr Präsident! Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Der Zwischenapplaus in der Rede des ehemaligen österreichischen Bundeskanzlers heute hier im Europäischen Parlament kam auf, als er von der Verteidigungsunion, die wir brauchen, gesprochen hat. Ein gutes Zeichen. Vor zwei Wochen hat mit der deutschen Regierung eine wichtige europäische Regierung – jede Regierung eines Mitgliedstaates ist wichtig, Deutschland ist groß – klargemacht: Das Einstimmigkeitsprinzip, wenn es blockiert, ist so nicht haltbar. Ein wichtiger Schritt. Warum? Weil die Europäische Union sich immer weiterentwickelt hat durch neue Verträge, in struktureller Hinsicht. In menschlicher Hinsicht natürlich durch Generationen vor uns, die ganz viel geleistet haben, auf deren Schultern wir stehen, sprichwörtlich.

Und jetzt ist es an uns, etwas zu leisten, damit die Europäische Union nicht nur besteht, sondern mehr Stärke nach außen entwickelt auf dieser Welt, mehr Freiheit nach innen für die Bürgerinnen und Bürger möglich macht. Und deshalb ist es so wichtig, nicht nur wieder an eine Vertragsreform zu denken, sondern an dieser Vertragsreform zu arbeiten. Wir hier im Europäischen Parlament können Verhandlungen führen, gute Kompromisse schließen über die politischen und nationalstaatlichen Grenzen hinweg und gute Entscheidungen fällen. Aber wir brauchen in der zweiten Kammer der europäischen Gesetzgebung, bei den mitgliedstaatlichen Regierungen, auch Bewegung. Und das wird so wichtig sein, dass eine Vertragsreform das hervorbringt. Und zukünftige Generationen werden uns fragen: Was habt ihr denn getan dafür, dass der Plan A eines vereinten Europa umgesetzt wird? Der Plan B wäre ein Europa verschiedener Geschwindigkeiten, auch ein Plan. Aber Plan A ist besser.

Damian Boeselager (Verts/ALE), blue-card question. – Dear colleague, I have to say, I do not understand a word of what you are saying because you say that we want less power for the nation states, but that is completely wrong.

We have all lost power. All of us. The nation states, the European Union. We are not able to defend ourselves. We are not able to act. So, what we need to do is to make sure that everyone can take decisions on the European level, on the national level, regional and local, and we need to fix this. This is the institutional response.

You said you want more democracy. That is what we are asking for. We want the Commission to be elected by the European citizens, not randomly being the friends of the prime ministers at the time.

How are you going to ensure that there is actually power for anyone in this European Union without reform?

Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle (Renew). – Mr President, Europe is the greatest place on earth to be born. Not the US. Our infant mortality rates are the lowest worldwide. The best and most affordable education, whether vocational or academic, is a founding principle of our societies. And our Erasmus+ programme is the envy of many. Europe is the best place to work. We have the right to mind-blowing things like family leave or vacation. In Europe we can work to live and not live to work. Our collective life expectancy is unmatched, worth much more than raw GDP, if you ask me.

Europe is, simply put, the place to be. And the EU is the foundation for that greatness. But like every great project, it requires maintenance. It requires courage to reform. It requires vision to integrate further towards an ever closer Union, towards a federal Union. We do not need an American dream. We have our own homemade European dream. The moment is here. The European moment is now.

Anna Strolenberg (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, we are wasting money on defence. Our armies are big enough to be expensive, but too small and fragmented to keep us safe. I am critical of this waste of money because every euro that we spend on defence is a euro less on schools, on hospitals, on housing.

So, if we spend money, let's spend it wisely. We can do so by building a European army. We stop spending money insufficiently on 27 armies, we spend it as one and we can save up to EUR 100 billion a year.

That is massive because I want peace more than anything. I want a peaceful future for every European – one filled with parks, playgrounds, healthcare, good housing. But if we want to get there, we have to do it differently because peace that we cannot defend is peace that is decided on the terms of the aggressor.

So, colleagues, the time for Europe is now. Let's build a European army guided by one European democracy, with a true united states of Europe.

Damian Boeselager (Verts/ALE). – Mr President, dear colleagues, I'm incredibly grateful that we are having a strong debate about the institutional changes that Europe needs now. But I also have to say that I'm a bit tired of the false narratives that come up here in this House every time we discuss this topic.

People on the far right and on the far left say Europe is undemocratic. Then we propose to make it democratic with institutional changes, and then they speak against it. They say it's too far away from the citizens. Then we say, let's reform it and bring it closer to the citizens, and then they're against that.

Then they say we should look into the history books. When I look into the history books, what do I see? I see a history of blood and violence in our past. And I see that when the European Union, the European project, started, this stopped. I see that actually in the past, those that fought for nation states were the ones that were fighting for a better future. But they do not follow this. They follow looking into the past and preserving something that cannot exist anymore.

What we need now is honesty. And the truth is that now is the moment for Europe. Now is the moment for the United States of Europe.