The Democratic Pulse - August-September 2025
Welcome to Pulse, the newsletter of the European Democrats.
With the #StopTheBully campaign, we called for a united front and a firm response to the new US tariffs: fair trade, shared rules, a transatlantic partnership based on reciprocity. Unfortunately, the outcome confirms our fears: the EU has bowed to Washington's unilateral decision. As our president François Bayrou said, it was “a dark day”. For us, the dossier remains open: we need a rebalancing of negotiations that protects European businesses and workers and a common European voice in global relations. In a word: a powerful Europe
As autumn approaches, the world appears more fragmented, with new crises erupting and an increasingly clear contest between authoritarian shortcuts and the more arduous but necessary path of democratic processes. Over the last three months, this “new disorder” has taken shape in two powerful images: Donald Trump welcoming Vladimir Putin on a red carpet at a base in Alaska for an agreement on Ukraine that, two months later, has not materialised; and the celebration in Beijing of China's supposed “victory” in World War II, with a parade of autocrats and the presence of some democratic leaders, partly due to Trump's divisive choice of tariffs, which is causing great concern.
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France and Italy — The comparisons that Europe needs
At the MoDem autumn conference in Provence (end of September), we brought European strategic autonomy, the defence of the rule of law and inclusive growth back to the forefront. The Europe Days organised by the EDP with French MEPs opened up opportunities for discussion with activists.
A few days later, at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence with Italia Viva, the EDP stand was a meeting point with the world of Italian reformism. In the debate “Leaders or followers, the European dilemma”, Sandro Gozi and Manuel Valls, moderated by Enrico Borghi, discussed what kind of Europe we want: one that is capable of leading, not following.
In Paris, the EDP's annual seminar — Reforms and global challenges, agenda for 2026
On 4 September, at the MoDem headquarters in Paris, our MEPs held a seminar with François Bayrou, Sandro Gozi and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. In that setting, we set the priorities for the year ahead: making European governance more effective, responding to the high cost of living in a way that protects families and businesses, accelerating a competitive ecological transition that leaves no one behind, and strengthening the Union's global role. A clear demand emerged: credible European leadership, capable of building alliances and defending threatened democracies. See you next time!
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