Foresight review: The EU’s opportunities in a time of transformation

Dear reader, you are holding Sitra’s foresight review, addressing key questions about the future of the European Union. This review presents observations from Sitra’s EU foresight process launched in the spring of 2025. The work is based on background research by Sitra’s experts, and on discussions and interviews with stakeholders. 

The review offers insights into key areas where the EU should focus, not only to better navigate the present, but more importantly, to succeed in the future. The era of passive and reactive approaches is over. We must be able to examine how different developments and trends intensify and reinforce one another. We are living in an era of rapid, transformative change, which calls for the strategic and visionary capacity to identify future opportunities – otherwise, turbulence will persist. 

This review approaches changes and key developments from broad and long-term perspectives, looking ahead to 2035. As the international rules-based order undergoes profound transformation, the building blocks of the future are either in free fall or waiting to be seized. 

The review is intended for experts, decision-makers, organisations, businesses, and anyone with an interest in the European Union.