In June, European citizens are voting against a backdrop vastly different from that of 2019. With Europe contending with the effects of a global pandemic, economic downturn, and the outbreak of war, voters' priorities have shifted in the lead-up to the elections, giving rise to new debates and party group talking points.

With the 2024 European Parliament elections around the corner, three key issues are standing out as the primary drivers for political groups. As prospective MEPs get on the campaign trail and their party groupsies finalise their manifestoes and prospective MEPs get on the campaign trail,, three key issues are standing out as the primary drivers in the upcoming European elections. wWe are seeing a clear trend towards a more sovereigntist approach to EU politics, with politicians arguing for sweeping changes meant to prepare the continent for a more turbulent, dangerous and chaotic world.

1.   Security and Defense: With global tensions rising and security threats evolving, security and defense became a central issue for these EU elections. Concerns over terrorism, cyberattacks, and regional conflicts, most notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have propelled discussions on bolstering EU defense capabilities and fostering greater cooperation among member states. The open discussions about a potential “EU Defense Commissioner” and EU leaders pointing to the need to move their countries’ arms manufacturers to a war footing underpin all discussions ahead of the upcoming election. The drastic changes in and around the continent have broken many taboos of everyday EU politics with policymakers now discussing the possibility of the bloc’s first-ever Wartime Commission meant to navigate through a much more dangerous environment.

2.   Migration: For the past 10 years, migration has continued to be a contentious topic, influenced by ongoing geopolitical conflicts, economic disparities, and humanitarian crises worldwide. The EU is faced with the challenge of managing migration flows while addressing issues of asylum, refugee rights, and border security. In the backdrop of a deepening crisis in the Middle East and the impact of climate change on African states, populists have once again taken the topic to the top of the agenda with centrist parties being forced to follow in their rhetoric. The attention given to this topic is likely to end up purely within the realm of virtue signalling, especially after the adoption of the EU’s new migration pact and the lack of concrete policy proposals currently on the table. Nonetheless, with the likely increase in number of rightwingright-wing MEPs, the EU will be forced to maintain a strong focus within this field.

3.   Climate Change: While combating climate change was the most important issue on the incumbent European Commission’s agenda at the start of its mandate, paired with its flagship EU Green Deal policy, geopolitical winds and economic turbulence have pushed it down the list of key priorities. Riding on the back of EU-wide farmers’ protests, high inflation and energy costs and economic downturn in some of the EU’s biggest economic, MEPs (including ones who previously championed green policies) have had a drastic change of heart.  The messaging that we have been observing over the past few months is unlikely to change ahead of the elections, especially in the context of electoral difficulties for Green parties across the bloc and the rise of far-right parties who espouse radically different environmental policies.

Prioritising these issues inevitably has implications for other topics, such as healthcare:

Impact on Healthcare: While security, migration, and climate change are critical issues that demand attention, prioritising them may divert resources and political focus away from healthcare. Healthcare systems across the EU face a multitude of challenges requiring sustained investment and policy reforms. Nonetheless, the memories of the COVID-19 pandemic still remain, and the EU has already begun undertaking more and more ambitious steps in the field. This is especially visible under the banner of the bloc’s drive for “strategic autonomy”, especially vis-a-vis China. Concerted efforts for packaging healthcare as an area of key security concern especially amid fears of a new pandemic in the foreseeable future, remains a crucial driver behind the EU’s political will in the field.

Furthermore, it is likely that new MEPs will have an even greater desire to drive the agenda forward – especially given the possibility of either creating a permanent EP committee focused solely on health or expanding the role of the current SANT committee, which would serve as a key staging ground for presenting healthcare as the crucial issue it is.