Europe+ today - 2055

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I, Paula, 45, look back from my apartment in Paris. We knew that the late 2020s and 30s would become the ultimate test. Russia had prolonged the wars with the help of China and other authoritarian regimes. China had perfected digital control. The EU forged the “Coalition of the Free.” From Brazil to Canada and parts of Asia as well as Africa, these countries worked together to protect our planet and to safeguard the free exchange of goods and science.
Germany and France took the lead: they anchored citizen councils in their constitutions, lobby registers and AI-based transparency systems became mandatory. Freedom thus turned into a verifiable practice. Citizen councils gained veto rights against lobby-driven laws, algorithms of social media were regulated and placed under European control to curb disinformation. The “Energy Transition 2.0” made Europe independent by 2040.
The EU introduced a “Democracy Update”: every legislative proposal had to pass through a public forum, every state-run AI was open source. Militarily, Europe strengthened its defenses, but at the same time invested twice as much in education, critical thinking, and digital sovereignty.
Today, in 2055, dictatorships still exist – but, much like in 1989, they are suffocating in their own rigidity.
I smile. We have learned: democracy is not a given. It is a daily choice.

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