ESPAS – at the heart of EU foresight
About ESPAS
The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) is an inter-institutional EU process promoting foresight and anticipatory governance. It brings together nine EU institutions and bodies who are committed to thinking longer term about the challenges and opportunities facing Europe and, through foresight, to support policy-makers to make the right policy choices.
We live in an era of rapid and sometimes frightening change, and of growing complexity and uncertainty. Stability, prosperity and democracy are no longer a given. To meet the expectations of citizens and communities, responsible governance is necessary to help prepare better for the future, mitigate major risks and build up capabilities. This is where strategic foresight comes into its own.
In times of increasingly rapid change, growing complexity and critical uncertainty, responsible anticipatory governance is vital to preparing for the unexpected. Strategic Foresight is required whenever there is a high degree of uncertainty surrounding changes to the relevant future context. By mainstreaming foresight techniques and processes in policy-making, Europe can make informed choices about the future and the lives and well-being of its citizens.
In the decade or so since it was established, ESPAS has led the way in forging a new culture of foresight in the EU. Many ESPAS partner organisations have developed their own foresight capacity as they came to see the benefits of using this for better policy-making.
ESPAS is currently engaged in a number of exciting, forward-looking projects, drawing on the collective talent from amongst its members. These include:
- A major Global Trends Report, due for publication in 2024.
- A new horizon scanning project identifying 'weak signals' of change.
- A new international dialogue on foresight to compare analysis of global trends and their potential implications for policy-making.
- An Annual Conference bringing together political figures and experts from around the world.
- A 'Young Talent Network' to develop foresight literacy amongst young professionals in the EU.
- A series of Ideas Papers to stimulate discussion on the future across the policy spectrum.
- A 'European Foresight' podcast series (beginning in May 2023).
Enjoy browsing our website. For more information on ESPAS activities and foresight in the European Union, please contact us at ESPAS.Secretariat@europarl.europa.eu.
Foresight is much more about shaping the future than predicting it.
2023 ESPAS Annual Conference
"Building Europe's Future: Time for Strategic Choices."
Tuesday 14 November 2023
The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) was held on Tuesday 14 November. As in previous years, it was co-hosted by the European Commission and the European Parliament.
At a time when an illegal and unprovoked war continues to rage on European soil and ahead of the next EU institutional cycle, this year’s 11th ESPAS annual conference focused on the key global trends at the crossroads of geopolitics, the environment, technology, the economy, and democracy. We debated, inter alia, the growing linkages between stability, security and the economy, the global tech race and future social, economic and environmental fairness, and digital technologies and their impact on democracy. We also mapped the related strategic choices for Europe in the period to 2040.
This year’s conference "Building Europe's future: time for strategic choices" will be a stepping stone in the journey towards the fourth ESPAS Global Trends Report, due to be published in February 2024. We hope this conference will help to shape the public debate in the lead-up to the European Parliament elections in 2024, and offer citizens a forward-looking perspective for Europe.
Please get in touch if you have any questions ESPAS.Secretariat@europarl.europa.eu.
ESPAS Annual Conference, 14 November 2023
Building Europe's Future: Time for Strategic Choices
Building Europe's Future
What will power look like in 2040? Fragmentation and power shifts
Globalisation and deglobalisation: the future of economic power
Conference 2023 – Some visual takeaways
Foresight publications
- Committee of the Regions Opinion:
Strategic foresight as an instrument of EU governance and better regulation - October 2023 - OECD working paper:
'Supporting decision making with strategic foresight: An emerging framework for proactive and prospective governments' - September 2023 - European Parliament
'Future Shocks 2023 Anticipating and weathering the next storms' - July 2023 - European Commission 2023 Strategic Foresight Report
'Sustainability and wellbeing at the heart of Europe's Open Strategic Autonomy' - July 2023 - European Commission JRC Science for Policy Report
'Towards a fair and sustainable Europe 2050: Social and economic choices in sustainability transitions' - July 2023 - ESPAS Horizon Scanning:
Emerging issues for EU policymaking - June 2023 - EESC Opinion on 2022 European Commission Strategic Foresight Report - March 2023
- Council of the European Union General Secretariat:
Forward Look 2023 - January 2023 - ESPAS Ideas Paper on Digital Cohesion - November 2022
- Global Semiconductor Trends and the Future of EU Chip Capabilities - October 2022
- ESPAS Ideas Paper on the Geopolitics of Health - July 2022
- Future Shocks 2022:
Addressing risks and building capabilities for Europe in a contested world - April 2022 - European Commission Strategic Foresight Report 2022:
'Twinning the green and digital transition in the new geopolitical context' - Joint Research Centre's Science for Policy Report:
'Towards a green and digital future. Key requirements for successful twin transitions in the European Union' - ESPAS Ideas Paper on Populism - December 2021
- ESPAS Global Trends Mid-Term Report:
The Global Future – An Update - November 2021 - European Commission 2021 Strategic foresight report :
The EU’s capacity and freedom to act - Joint Research Centre (JRC)’s Science for policy report :
‘Shaping & securing the EU’s Open Strategic Autonomy by 2040 and beyond’ - ESPAS report 2019 :
Global Trends to 2030 - April 2019
About ESPAS
An Inter-institutional EU Project
The European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS) is an inter-institutional EU process promoting foresight and anticipatory governance. It brings together nine EU institutions and bodies who are committed to thinking longer term about the challenges and opportunities facing Europe and, through foresight, to support policy-makers to make the right policy choices.
About ORBIS
The first global foresight hub
ORBIS is the world's largest library of prospective studies at your fingertips. Read, learn and contemplate a wide variety of topics that concern you and the rest of the world's citizens.