The Brexit, migration, the Euro crisis, continued economic malaise, and the rise of EU-sceptical parties and nationalist sentiment across Europe – the EU is clearly in turbulence. But how did it get there? What problems does the EU face, and do they amount to a crisis of the European Union? If the EU is in a crisis – what does it entail for EU climate and energy policy?

There is no single, easy answer to these questions, not least because the views and opinions diverge, also depending on national viewpoints – the Polish perception on the EU and its different crises differs from that in Portugal. But part of a problem is that the existing dialogue on the EU remains a national one – there is a lack of European dialogue on the situation of the EU, and therefore a lack of understanding of the different viewpoints on the EU crisis.

This project aims to tackle this gap, with two different contributions to the debate. In a background paper, Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf and Benjamin Görlach analyse different facets of the EU crisis, their causes, as well as implications for EU climate and energy policy. In a second volume, six distinguished experts from different EU countries provide their views on the EU crisis: Sebastian Oberthür, Free University of Brussels, Belgium – focusing on the EU as a whole; Benjamin Görlach, Ecologic Institute, Germany – focusing on Germany’s special role in the EU, and its difficulties of filling this role; Istvan Bart, Energiaklub Climate Policy Research Institute, Hungary, – with a focus on Hungary and its views on EU integration and decarbonisation; Krzysztof Księżopolski, Institute for Security, Energy and Climate Studies, Poland – providing the Polish view on EU climate and energy policy, and the relation between climate and energy policy objectives; Pedro Martins Barata, Get2C, Portugal – with a focus on the Euro crisis, austerity and its effects on the EU’s capacity for ambitious, integrated climate and energy policies; and finally Martin Nesbit, Institute for European Environmental Policy, UK – with a focus on the aftermath of the Brexit vote

The papers will serve as input to discussion at two workshops organised in this project - in London on 28 October 2016, and in Brussels on 16 December 2016. This project is made possible through the generous support of the Mercator Foundation.