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Five years ago, we needed three months to decide, and still some leaders were against.

At a European Council meeting on 2 July, EU leaders agreed on who should fill top EU positions.

Mauna Kea Technologies, inventor of Cellvizio®, the multidisciplinary probe-based and needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy platform, and the European Investment Bank (EIB), announced the signing of a EUR 22.5 million loan agreement on 21 June, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker Plan.

On 24 June, the EU approved Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) of EUR 100 and EUR 150 million to Jordan and Tunisia respectively.

Staff from the Commission, in liaison with staff from the European Central Bank, visited Lisbon from 14-19 June for the tenth post-programme surveillance (PPS) mission to Portugal.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered a speech on 19 June at the European Central Bank (ECB) Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal.

Ahead of the Euro Summit on 21 June 2019, the European Commission took stock of the progress made to deepen Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) since the Five Presidents' Report and called on Member States to take further concrete steps.

Today we have not only preserved the integrity of the euro area but we have also deepened our Economic and Monetary Union, which is now stronger than ever.

At the Euro Summit on 21 June, the 27 leaders of the EU looked at the economic situation together with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

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Since the start of 2019, young people have taken to the streets to demand bold moves from governments in the fight against climate change. At the same time, France’s Gilets Jaunes are more worried about the end of the month, than the end of the world. How can Europe integrate this desire for greater personal prosperity with environmental and social concerns and still ensure growth? Do we even need more growth?

Families and individuals around the EU are facing rapidly changing working conditions. Many fear their children may miss out on benefits that once made up the social contract between the state and citizens. The risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence in the workplace have raised new challenges around the bloc.

Support for the idea of a universal basic income –a guaranteed regular payment for life to every individual, adult or child– often starts high but then falls once people realise the complications of introducing such system. This was certainly the experience at the Brussels Economic Forum, when the audience switched their votes from 60% in favour and 40% against before a debate, to 51% against and 49% in favour, after.

Europe has never been so prosperous. And yet the recent European elections have again revealed a wave of discontent sweeping across Europe. What has caused this breakdown in the public trust and the rising disenchantment with globalisation and the political establishment? And how should Europe respond?

About the Brussels Economic Forum 2018

Politicians should listen more to people and understand their perceptions of themselves and the world around them to come up with better policies. This was the overarching message of award-winning young economist Stefanie Stantcheva in her “Broader Horizons” TED-style talk at this year’s Brussels Economic Forum.

Europeans are used to changing their place of employment several times over a 40-year career. But today, even the jobs we do are changing at an unprecedented rate, pushing citizens to look for roles that matter in the face of competition from artificial intelligence.

A disconnect between government policies and citizens’ concerns is fuelling support for populist parties in Europe, analysts say. But the EU is struggling to find a response to calls for an overhaul of taxation, and of democracy itself.

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