Min vecka – Aktuellt från Europaparlamentet 

Den här veckan gästas nyhetsbrevet av Valérie Hayer som är ordförande för Liberalernas grupp i Europaparlamentet, Renew Europe. 

Europe is never built in a straight line.

When I was elected President of Renew Europe in 2024, I knew this mandate would be demanding. I did not yet know quite how quickly history would accelerate.

Every week seems to bring another test: Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, growing geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, democratic backsliding, pressure on our competitiveness, and increasingly visible consequences of climate change. In moments like these, Europe cannot afford to hesitate. Leadership matters.

That has been my guiding thought throughout this first half of the parliamentary mandate.

Leading the political group that sits at the heart of the European majority means finding compromises without compromising on our values. It means defending Ukraine when others grow tired. It means standing up for free trade while insisting that Europe must also be clear-eyed about today’s geopolitical realities. It means remaining open to trade while ensuring Europe can stand firm against economic coercion, unfair competition and political pressure from major powers, whether from China, the United States or elsewhere. It means investing in European innovation, security and competitiveness because our prosperity and our freedom depend on it.

Above all, it means remembering why we are here.

Politics in Brussels can sometimes seem distant. But the decisions we take are not abstract. They determine whether a company can export its products, whether families can afford their energy bills, whether young Europeans can study abroad, or whether our democracies remain protected from foreign interference.

That is why I am fortunate to work alongside colleagues who turn these principles into concrete results.

Karin Karlsbro is one of them.

As Coordinator of Renew Europe  and Vice-Chair in the Committee on International Trade, she has become one of our strongest voices for open, rules-based trade that protects European interests without closing Europe to the world. Whether by leading Parliament’s work on financial support for Ukraine, ensuring that Russia contributes to the cost of its aggression, or defending open trade that serves Europe’s strategic interests, Karin embodies what Renew Europe stands for: standing firmly with our partners while defending European interests with confidence. Our work is measured by actions, not words.

That same approach was evident in the negotiations on the EU-US trade agreement. Karin held a firm line to secure stronger guarantees for Europe, showing that openness and cooperation go hand in hand with being demanding and standing up for our concerns.

This reflects something essential about our political family: the conviction that trade, security, climate and geopolitical resilience are inseparable. In today’s world, defending Europe’s interests means strengthening trusted partnerships while building the strategic independence that our citizens expect.

Looking ahead, our task is clear.

Europe must become more competitive without abandoning its climate ambitions. We must strengthen our defence while continuing to defend democracy. We must reduce strategic dependencies while remaining an open continent that believes in cooperation.

Renew Europe has consistently argued that competitiveness and the Green Deal are not competing projects but complementary ones. A cleaner Europe is also a more independent Europe. Every renewable energy project, every innovative European company and every new trade partnership with trusted democratic partners makes us less dependent on authoritarian regimes and more resilient against future crises.

This autumn, these questions will only become more important.

Discussions on Europe’s long-term budget, our industrial future, trade relations with key partners and continued support for Ukraine will shape the direction of the Union for years to come. They will require courage, ambition and a willingness to look beyond national borders. That is what has always guided our political family: a belief that Europe’s strength comes from cooperation, openness and responsibility.

When I travel across Europe, I am reminded that our greatest strength is not that we all think alike. It is that we choose to work together despite our differences.

That is also what I experience every day inside Renew Europe.

Different countries. Different perspectives. One common conviction: Europe is strongest when it acts together.

Thank you, Karin, for giving me the opportunity to share these reflections with your readers.

The work continues, together.

Because the challenge ahead is not simply to react to the world as it changes. It is to ensure Europe has the capacity to shape it. That means becoming more independent in energy, defence, technology and critical supply chains, not to close ourselves off, but to be free to choose our own future. Europe’s sovereignty is built on its ability to stand on its own feet while remaining a reliable partner to the world.

I am certain that Europe’s best chapters are still ahead of us, and we will write them together.

— Valérie Hayer
President of the Renew Europe Group