On 25 March 2017, the European Council commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties. European integration has come a long way since 1957. However, in a world full of uncertainties, the EU and its members face major challenges linked to the Union's complex poly-crisis and new geopolitical as well as geo-economic developments. In Rome, EU leaders signalled their unity and looked to the future. But what are Europe’s aspirations and prospects? Will the outcome of the Rome Summit suffice to re-inspire the European project and which concrete steps should follow? Might there be a political window of opportunity after the French and German elections for new initiatives to deepen European cooperation with respect to the future of EMU, social Europe and/or the security dimension? And how does all this link to Brexit and to discussions related to (more of a) multispeed Europe?

These and other questions were discussed in the course of a panel debate on 8 March between Herman Van Rompuy, EPC President and President Emeritus of the European Council, Maria João Rodrigues, Member of the European Parliament, Janis A. Emmanouilidis, EPC Director of Studies, and Fabian Zuleeg, EPC Chief Executive, who chaired the event. The Policy Dialogue was opened by the King's Commissioner for Limburg, Theo Bovens. The event was co-organised with the Province of Limburg and follows on from high-level debates that took place at the ‘EU&ME Summit’ in Maastricht on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty on 9 December 2016.