The EU has been losing its competitive edge compared to China and the US. But it also has formidable assets. It has peace and stability in a world that increasingly lacks both. It has the world’s largest single market, with its regulatory impact felt around the globe. It has a strong single currency, and we support all the willing Member States in their path towards the Eurozone. The next Commission must be an “Investment Commission.” We need to focus on investment in research, development, innovation and people and attract private investment to make Europe more competitive and sustainable. Earlier this year, the Renew Europe group released a 10-points plan on how to do just that with proposals to make life easier for SMEs, cut red tape, reduce our energy dependencies, create more access to other markets, make trade fairer, mobilise private investment for innovation and attract talents. We believe that more and better jobs are a key driver for a more social Europe. Strengthening the economy serves to improve people’s lives. Fresh thinking and ambitious ideas are what our economy needs to regain its competitive edge and to ensure the well-being of our society. Renew Europe Now has plenty of that to offer.

Remember the time where wannabe European autocrats could do whatever they wanted with EU money? Well, this is no more possible thanks to the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. We created a mechanism linking EU funds to the respect for basic democratic principles such as the independence of judges or the fight against corruption. Nonetheless, the people should not pay the price of their government’s misbehaviour twice. That’s why we want to take that money back from the hands of autocrats to give it to the civil society and respectable project holders. In addition, we are determined to move with the so-called “Article 7 procedure.” Neither money, nor voting rights for autocrats. We are committed to do everything in our power to increase the trust citizens have in democratic institutions. European values are not for sale. Full stop.  

We want to build a continent where everyone is free to build the life they aspire to regardless of who they love, who they pray to, what they look like and what they believe in. Wherever the far right came close to power, those rights came under attack, especially women's rights. We are committed to defend women’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including abortion, and combating gender-based violence. We work for the legalisation and recognition of same sex marriages and rainbow families across Europe and their full rights as European citizens. This is a relentless fight, and we need to keep our guards up.

Farmers are upset, and rightly so. They ensure our food sovereignty and security and yet, they have been portrayed by some on the left wing as the enemies of climate. Opportunistically, the right wing uses farmers' dismay to wedge a war against climate policies. This is the sort of polarisation Renew Europe Now refuses. It’s not climate activists on one side and the tractors on the other. No. Climate and farming are two sides of the same coin. The greater risk for harvests is not green rules, but climate change. Farmers know this. But they need to be both respected and supported. They want to focus on farming, not filling out forms. Renew Europe Now has tangible proposals to escape the black and white debate we’ve fallen in and simplify farmers’ lives to the benefit of all citizens. Let’s not bite the hand of those who feed us but rather seize hold of it.

We like the EU, but we know it’s not perfect. Some say get rid of it then. We say: let’s make it even better. We want to reform the EU’s treaties to make sure citizens feel better involved. We want to increase the efficiency, transparency and accountability of EU institutions -- the gatherings where national ministers meet are too opaque. We want to transform the Commission into a proper democratic government, with only one president at the helm of the EU’s executive so the world finally knows whom to call. We want to strengthen the role of the European Parliament, so the voices of the citizens resonate even stronger than today. We want to get rid of the vetoes. Reform needs to happen and needs to happen now. Especially as new members are getting ready to join the family and are on their way to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. In the same vein, those who meet the relevant criteria should join the free-movement Schengen area without further delay. Ukrainians are spilling their blood to defend our democratic freedom. Ukraine must join and it will join. But we need to be able to welcome it, like other candidates. Without deep reforms, enlargement risks turning into a failure for all. The continent is about to unite, once more. This is good news. The more the mightier. But the governance of a whole continent is no trivial matter. It’s time to reopen the treaties.