Conclusion: how can we achieve an EU Future Fund? 5 CONCLUSION: HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE AN EU FUTURE FUND? An EU Future Fund offers not only a solution to press­ing economic, ecological and political challenges. It can also win majority support in Germany and Europe if political actors focus on how it would tackle these important and as of yet unresolved issues. As a recent FES tax policy survey underlined, fiscal policy is never an end in itself for citizens and can only be justified as an instrument for solving important problems, especially in the German context(Storks et al. 2023). On this basis an EU Future Fund addresses challenges capable of garnering majority support: – The Single Market, in which an EU Future Fund would primarily invest, enjoys substantial majority support and there are already vigorous demands for more investments in it, especially from industry, including companies, and not least in the current geoeconomic context(EIB 2023; BDI 2023; ERT 2023, Antwerp Declaration 2024). – Support for a more socially just transformation is also overwhelming: large majorities in Germany and Europe are worried about the rapid advance of the climate crisis and are calling for green investments for the transforma­tion. They are also worried about being left behind in a transformation that fails to take sufficient account of so­cial considerations and reject any attempts to get them to shoulder a burden beyond their means(More in Com­mon 2021; Umweltbundesamt 2022; YouGov 2023; Eu­robarometer 2023; FES 2024; Abou-Chadi et al. 2024). – Concerns about the rise of right-wing populism and right-wing extremism and their attacks on the founda­tions of democracy are also shared, almost unanimously, by all other population groups(Koch et al. 2021; Wegsc­heider et al. 2023). The investments needed to meet these urgent challenges should therefore be constantly brought to the fore in order to promote an EU Future Fund and compel opponents to present other solutions. From a scientific standpoint, even the financing side does not(any longer) pose an insurmountable political risk. According to a recent study, major industrial policy in­vestments would be popular in Germany, Poland and France if accompanied by social conditionalities and financed by borrowing rather than taxes(Abou-Chadi et al. 2024). Sur vey research in the EU in recent years has also shown that, for example, the in terms of fiscal policy historic Next Gener­ation EU recovery fund has won majority support in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain despite general opposition to EU borrowing and grants rather than loans in all countries(Bremer et al. 2023). A permanent fund for com­bating economic crises along the lines of the NextGenEU model met with even more approval than the temporary model opted for by policymakers. It also shows that party rhetoric has a clear impact on voter approval, for example for joint borrowing(‘Eurobonds’): positive reinforcement from the party they support strengthens approval, while rejection by political opponents does not change their minds(Meijers et al. 2022). Suggestions that, if joint debt was not taken on to combat the Covid-19 pandemic there was a risk that a cri­sis-ridden eurozone might break up because of an‘Italexit’ also significantly strengthened support for fiscal integration in Germany. Reinforcing this dynamic, support in Italy for re­maining in the euro also fell sharply when austerity and structural reforms were mentioned to citizens there as a con­dition(Baccaro et al 2023). Progressive parties therefore have considerable scope to generate majority support even for fis­cal policy integration, which remains controversial. Cam­paigning even for joint borrowing does not threaten to un­dermine support among their voters. At national level an EU Future Fund makes possible a broad societal alliance that could wield political clout. Consensus on this issue is comparatively strong between trade unions, the climate movement, employers, particularly in industry, the energy and digital economy(Stiftung Kli­maWirtschaft 2024; Antwerp Declaration 2024), as well as experts and think tanks, ranging from the IMK to economic and European policy institutes and the German Economic In­stitute. Depending on its substance, the security policy and geostrategic perspective might enable further alliances, in­cluding in conservative circles. In our view, it is important to strengthen these alliances in Germany, but also in other EU countries, and to secure partners for a progressive financial policy that is capable of winning majority support in the coming years. The political window of opportunity for establishing an EU Future Fund will probably focus on 2026, al­though the debate will start in autumn 2024. Current­ly, the EU is in political transition: after the reform of fiscal 21