Elena Baracani

Introduction Following the 2024 European elections, the European Union (EU) has pursued a strategy of institutional continuity to address growing geopolitical instability and intensifying domestic contestation, especially from populist and radical-right forces. By doing this, the EU prioritised leadership stability, preserved its pro-European parliamentary majority and reaffirmed its core policy agenda (Baldini et al., 2024).

Introduction This Annual Review (AR) of the European Union (EU) focuses on the events and developments of 2023. However, our editorial was crafted shortly after a critical turning point, that is, the institutional and political renewal process that began on 6–9 June 2024. During this period, nearly 400 million European citizens were entitled to elect the 720 Members of the 10th European Parliament (EP) Legislature.

Introduction When, in November 2019, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that hers would be a ‘geopolitical Commission’ (2019b), she was not only seeking to differentiate her incoming administration from that of her predecessor. She was also making a bold gambit.