The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

PROLOGUE. THE FUTURE OF EUROPE 11 This step probably cannot be taken by the entire Twenty-Seven. Therefore, we must be ready to form a vanguard group on fiscal, migration and defence matters, constituted around the eurozone. Spain must be in that driving nucleus, along with Germany and France. This Report on the State of the European Union by the Fundación Alternativas and the Ebert Foundation analyses and proposes some of the solutions mentioned above to address the challenges that need to be met. It is a valuable contribution, as are the preceding documents, which have been published since 2011, always from a clearly pro-European and pro- gressive point of view. If we look over the complete series, we will see that they have barely lost their topicality, because the proposals have either ended up being adopted or are under discussion or in the process of being adopted. It is around these major issues and proposals that the debate we must have in the European elections of May 2019 has to revolve. They will de- termine the future of Europe in the coming decades. Josep Borrell Fontelles Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation