Spotlight on EU Security Priorities in the 2024 European Elections

31 May 2024  –  Written by Andrea Rocio Limon

As European elections approach, the seven parties in the European Parliament have outlined their commitments, stated their positions and launched their campaigns on their most pressing agenda issues related to security and defence in Europe. The last European Parliament elections took place in 2019, and since MEPs and citizens have lived through Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy security crisis with rising costs of electricity and gas. In this article, I aim to identify where the European Parliament groups stand on food security, energy security and on a common European defence strategy.

The European People's Party

Food Security

  • The EPP Group stands firm on supporting European farmers and will vote against any laws that hinder their ability to produce food thus resulting in the reduction of food production. This issue is especially delicate as the Parliament’s Environment Committee plans to reduce the use of pesticides in Europe by 50% by 2030. 
  • The EPP supports the reduction and responsible use of pesticide. A total ban on glyphosate would have a seriously negative impact on food production and prices.

Energy Security

  • The EPP strongly supports European energy security and affordability through the implementation of a ‘true’ Energy Union. They believe that through the prioritisation of domestic energy and through strategic importation, greater investment in cross-border energy infrastructure (European hydrogen and European-wide infrastructure), and improvements in the electricity market to ensure stable prices and consumer protection.
  • The EPP’s support for the Green Deal focuses on the need to fund innovation that delivers sustainable energy for citizens, prioritising the investment in energy-efficient buildings, helping families meet the costs of renovation needs and giving businesses, including SMEs, incentives to switch to more sustainable practices.

European Defence

  • In their list of priorities, the EPP group advocates for a European Security Pact to protect its citizens from wars, pandemics, criminality and cyber threats. This includes deepening the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and creating a European Defence Union, an integrated European force on land, sea and air by 2030 with rapid deployment capacity, aligned with NATO’s new force model.

  • The EPP group envisions creation of a European Corps that would assign additional troops and promote interoperability with Member States.

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)

Food Security

  • S&D supports the strengthening of food systems to ensure access to safe, healthy, nutritious, sustainable and sufficient food for all citizens. They highlight the importance of reducing food waste, and prioritise the reduction in environmental footprint of the food chain: by supporting local production and the consumption of seasonal, local products.

  • They also support the promotion of plant-based products and dietary habits by limiting the overconsumption of meat and ultra-processed products. They interpret food security, ‘holistically’, in relation to human and animal health, and the overall environmental protection to reduce ‘antimicrobials’ in agriculture.

Energy Security

  • The S&D are rather vague on their energy security goals for the upcoming term but they simply state that they want to protect citizens and societies through a ‘robust social shield’ in the event of an energy crisis, prioritising a concrete plan of action to protect citizens and against energy poverty. 

  • They’ve also expressed their support of linking the energy infrastructures of EU Member States to ensure a stable and uninterrupted energy supply for citizens and industries. Their goals are to lower energy costs, reduce the imports of energy resources, and more production of renewable energy in the EU by 2030.

European Defence

  • The S&D Group supports the creation of a European Defence Union; they believe in furthering the EU’s strategic autonomy proposed by Macron in 2017. By deepening discussions and legislation on strategic autonomy, the EU would be able to strengthen and contribute their diverse capabilities and improve coordination at both the national and European level.

  • S&D advocates for the EU to take responsibility for its security and defence in collaboration with allies such as NATO but to ensure that even non-NATO EU Members States feel heard throughout this shared effort of combating duplicated actions.

Renew Europe (RE)

Food Security

  • Renew Europe published a position paper on its practical solutions to address the food security crisis in agriculture, fisheries and food sectors. They will work to ensure that consumers can make informed decisions about the food they buy and the supply-chains through more transparent product labelling and the development of a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Energy Security

  • Renew Europe believes climate goals need to be focused on the energy sector, primarily focusing on energy efficiency and implementing higher targets in renewable energy. 

  • They advocate for a phase out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies and concentrating their effort on clean technologies such as green gas and hydrogen, however remaining conscious of the energy mix and green transition capabilities of other Member States. The energy union strategy should be further strengthened by continuing the work on interconnectors and smart grids to maximise cross-border energy flows.

European Defence

  • Renew Europe supports a reinforced Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) which should include traditional EU ‘soft power’ but also strengthen security, trade and defence policies and instruments. They believe in the creation of a genuine European Defense Union in close cooperation with NATO. 

  • Renew Europe’s Plan to create a strong, secure and strategically autonomous EU includes: increasing EU and national defence spending and aiming to buy more European; drastically enhancing joint procurement; reinforcing the defence capacity of EU border states, fully implementing the Strategic Compass, among others. However taking into effect the individual rights of every Member State to determine their own security and defence policies.

Greens/ European Free Alliance (G/EFA)

Food Security

  • The Greens/EFA Group oppose legislation on the abolishment, exemption or derogation from the environmental standards governing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). They believe this weakens the CAP’s environmental conditionality rules and removes fundamental ecological and agronomic elements that have been in place for decades.

  • The Greens/EFA Group has made concrete proposals to improve farmers’ revenues: a fairer redistribution of CAP subsidies towards small & medium farms; a guarantee that prices paid to farmers reflect the evolution of production costs; and better protection against unfair imports from third countries.

Energy Security

  • The Greens/EFA Group believe in replacing fossil fuels with the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency to lead Europe down the path towards climate neutrality. They believe the energy transition and climate protection are intertwined security policies. Investing in the energy transition creates jobs, cuts dependence on imports and makes the EU more strategically sovereign in terms of energy supply and raw materials procurement.

European Defence

  • The Greens/EFA advocate for overcoming the fragmented landscape of European security and defence and to establish a reliable and holistic strategy that compliments the UN, OSCE and NATO.  

  • They recognise the EU as a peace project, believing that peace promotion, conflict prevention and strengthening international security cannot be achieved individually, it must be a collective effort that aligns with European values that are progressive and human rights-centred.

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)

Food Security

Energy Security

  • ECR Members align energy security as parallel to all EU policies. They support nuclear energy as an indispensable part of the energy mix due to its reliability. They oppose ‘unrealistic’ targets for renewable energy. 

  • The ECR supports policies for hydrogen, which they consider to be more suited for air traffic, sea transport and heavy vehicles.They highlighted the risk of energy poverty if certain traditional energy sources are phased out too quickly; defended the freedom of Member States to determine their energy mix.

European Defence

  • The ECR group is in favour of the creation of a European army that complements NATO. The ECR Group believes in the interoperability of military systems and a rapid increase in the production and procurement of equipment and devices.

Identity and Democracy (ID)

Food Security

  • The Identity and Democracy Group believe that the agriculture sector suffers unfairly from EU imposed laws and regulations. They say that non-EU food producers are at an advantage because they do not have to abide by EU regulations, and therefore they do not incur the same production costs.

Energy Security

  • The ID group promotes the need for energy sovereignty. They advocate on behalf of citizens, often asking the European Commission to explain how ‘ordinary’ people will be able to heat their homes in the winter or use their cars. They have a petition on the website calling for a stop to unfair rise in energy prices due to EU policies. They believe that external supplies are taking advantage of Europe’s energy security crisis in 2023 by raising prices due to demand.

European Defence

  • In November 2023, the ID group stated in their plenary booklet that they are pro national sovereignty and reject any attempts to reshape the Union and enhance its capacity to act, calling this a power grab.

The Left

Food Security

  • The Left group believe in more nature conservation, less pesticides and more protected areas to prevent the extinction of plants and animals. 

  • Parliament’s decision to label GMO produced food with the indication “new genomic techniques”, was celebrated as a victory for the party.

Energy Security

  • In 2022, the Left outlined their proposal of 10 measures for a new energy model as the following: cap energy prices and end energy market rules; tax windfall profits of energy companies; public control of energy prices; public control of the energy sector; guarantee of minimum vital energy supply; pair energy savings plans; energy efficiency for buildings and housing; rapidly expand renewable energies; remove gas and nuclear from the European taxonomy; raise wages, not bills.

  • The Left celebrated the European Parliament’s vote to exit from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). This treaty prevented Member States from implementing ambitious climate policies that would harm fossil fuel companies.

European Defence

  • The Left group has long opposed the European Defence Fund (EDF) as they believe the budget of nearly €8bn for 2021-2027 is too much for defence research and development.

  • They support the dissolution of NATO, as they do not agree with its focus on driving attention and resources to militarism. They believe that the defence industry impedes the achievement of the Paris Agreement climate targets and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

IDRN does not take an institutional position and we encourage a diversity of opinions and perspectives in order to maximise the public good.

Recommended citation:

Limon, A. R. (2024) Spotlight on EU Security Priorities in the 2024 European Elections, 31 May. Available at: https://idrn.eu/spotlight-on-eu-security-priorities-in-the-2024-european-elections/ [Accessed: dd/mm/yyyy].