After the severe economic shock of 2026–2030, triggered by rising US geopolitical instability, a stock market crash, and the first major wave of AI-driven job displacement, hope felt in short supply. Across Europe, people shared the same anxious question: How did we let this happen again? Memories of the 2008 financial crisis returned, along with the unsettling sense that the world was moving backwards. The years that followed were marked by chaos, anger and growing polarisation. But from that instability came a realisation: Europe’s future could not be built on division. It could only be built on deeper cooperation. As the world became more fragmented, Europeans began to understand a simple truth more clearly than ever before: divided, we are weak; united, we are strong. By the early 2030s, politics began to change. Citizens stopped rewarding outrage, blame and division, and started demanding compromise, seriousness and shared purpose. Political leaders responded. What followed was something few had thought possible: the European Union federalised, and a new kind of superpower emerged. Europe did not rise through conquest, aggression or domination. It rose through cohesion, partnership and collaboration. We cut through the bureaucracy that had long slowed progress, not to pursue growth at any cost, but to build growth that was sustainable, fair and widely shared. Europe became more agile, more innovative and more confident in shaping its own destiny. As tensions between China and the United States deepened, Europe became the world’s common ground: a reliable partner, a trusted trading bloc, and a defender of liberal democracy, human rights and international order. In an increasingly unstable world, it became one of the few places where peace, predictability and freedom still felt secure. Now, in 2040, the European experiment is thriving. Europe has become a global centre of innovation, economic dynamism and social stability. The European Dream is no longer an aspiration, but a reality: a society where people have the freedom to build a business, raise a family and live with dignity and peace of mind. We have reversed population decline. In 2039, the EU recorded its highest birth rate in decades. Cross-European relationships and identities have flourished, helped by expanded Erasmus programmes and greater mobility across the Union. More and more people now see themselves not as French, Portuguese or Dutch first, but as European first, and proudly rooted in their region second. Europe also chose a different path on technology. While other powers used AI to intensify competition, control and division, the EU focused on using it to improve lives, strengthen public services and support strategic resilience. As a united bloc, we achieved far greater independence in energy, production and food security. Rather than causing mass long-term unemployment, this technological transition helped unlock a new era of job creation, renewal and opportunity. And Europe did not turn inward. It remained open to the world and became its safest and most trusted economic partner. The euro became the world’s leading reserve currency. Investment flowed toward stability, credibility and the rule of law. The Union continued to grow, with the UK rejoining in 2032 and Ukraine becoming part of the European project as well. Looking back from 2040, it is clear that the crises of the late 2020s did not destroy the European idea. They forced it to evolve. At the moment when everything seemed to be falling apart, Europe discovered that the only way forward was together. The European Dream became not just a vision of survival, but a model of renewal for the world.

The future would be colorful and colorful, the main topics in society would be respect, empathy and communication. The environment would not be filled with competition, beauty and perfection, but by emphasizing the individuality of the individual. From materialism to minimalism, people would be accepted as they are. The company would like to address the ecological crisis in a targeted manner.

I hope that nations will have understood that borders are indispensable for the survival of peoples, and must be re-established. I also hope that the European Commission will no longer be corrupt (we can dream...) or phagocytized by a corrupt woman and her minions. I hope that the national peoples will understand that it is up to them, and only them, to decide their future. Europe is just a continent, it is the countries that matter and must be sovereign at home. I would like, when I travel, to be able to do it safely, and discover the particularities of each country, without being in a standardized universe, otherwise, what interest is there in traveling? I would like countries to protect themselves and their nationals, and we should no longer be seen as the trash can of the world, where we can send all waste, whatever it may be. Let nature, animals, be respected and no longer exploited for the benefit of a minority that sees itself as an elite.

I think that European life and people in 2040 will be completely different from what they are today. I will in principle be 86 years old, and I believe that if I go out again I will no longer recognise the places I know as they are today. With the immigration of people from communities and religions different from ours, which is growing at a very high rate, it will be necessary to share work and wealth so that everyone lives decently and intelligently. But can I still say that the future of the generations of my children, grandchildren and others anguish me a lot, and that I am not the only one who thinks so?