Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

We live in an era of rapid and bewildering change, so we need to be ready for the unexpected.

Dive with us into the key findings of the latest S-Bus Global Trends Report and see what choices

and decisions our political leaders may be asked to make in the next five years

and how they could shape the kind of Europe we'll live in by 2040.

Armed conflicts, economic wars, deepening environmental crises, democratic backsliding, social inequalities.

Yes, we live in a world of increasing complexity, fragmentation and confrontation,

a world where stability, prosperity and democracy are no longer a given.

So at a time when many global trends point to a troubled and disruptive future,

even if there are also reasons for optimism,

and as the EU enters a new institutional cycle,

it's timely to look ahead to the strategic choices

EU politicians may be asked to make,

and how these may shape the long-term direction

of the Union.

That's what the fourth Global Trends Report, published earlier this year by the European

Strategy and Policy Analysis System, aims to do.

ESBUS brings together nine EU institutions and bodies committed to thinking longer-term about

the challenges and opportunities facing Europe

and through foresight help policymakers come up with the right policies.

The report entitled Choosing Europe's Future doesn't suggest prescriptive policy solutions.

Instead, it offers incoming leaders of the EU institutions and their teams a tool

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