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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 December 2023
John Bruton once said, “the European Union is the world's most successful invention for advancing peace”, and some may argue a great symbol for effective globalization and collaboration. While Europe is vast beyond the EU, rarely do we view the continent without considering the EU. Nevertheless, with many looming issues and concerns, one wonders: How successful is it really? Will it grow to encompass the rest of Europe? Is it really the savior for all of Europe? And if there are pressing issues, what are the steps to be taken, in order to keep the EU alive throughout the next decades? The number of EU skeptics continue to increase, while the EU supporters decrease. In the light of Brexit, many increasingly wonder if the EU will exist by 2050.
There is no doubt that Europe will continue to transform and flourish over the next decades, and that would be due in large part to the EU's reach and influence. We are pro-EU optimists who want to see Europe and the EU to flourish in the next decades and believe the EU will remain in existence by 2050, but we predict that it will go through, and needs to go through, serious changes and reforms with regards to gender equality, union size, member state sovereignty, and domestic policies, as well as the way member states work together.
More women, fewer new member states
In the wake of a gender awareness era, we predict that the EU will promote women in key decision-making positions, in politics and the economy, to appeal to the masses. With the current EU gender pay gap of 16 per cent (European Commission 2019), this promotion of women is a much needed rebranding that will significantly advance the performance and quality of work in the EU region. Women also outnumber men in all of Europe (Smirnova & Cai 2015). This raises the question of how the EU hopes to appeal more to the people and current member states’ citizens, if not providing equal treatment to men and women. Amending the current discrepancy would be a great strategic move that inspires young generations to support the EU even amid difficult times.
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