On 27 September, EURACTIV and the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) organised a debate in Brussels to hear what ideas the leaders of the European political parties and groups have for next year's European Parliament elections and how they propose to engage with European citizens.

ALDE Party President Hans Van Baalen MEP took part into the panel discussion and discussed with the other panelists the rise of populism and citizen distrust, unresolved youth unemployment, post-crisis economic problems, the risk of disinformation and fake news in elections, the migration issue and the upsurge of the 4.0 industry.

Happy to kick off our elections debate with @mercedesbresso @US2EU @hansvanbaalen @eaPolitics @AmChamEU_SDA @ZahradilJan @BrianMaguireEU @Maxime_Bureau #ep2019 #eadebates pic.twitter.com/1z2gnKsQlf

— AmCham EU (@AmChamEU) September 27, 2018

.@hansvanbaalen MEP, President @ALDEParty, states that the economy is very important and the EU must ensure economic stability, but his advice for the citizens is to "vote, vote, vote". #eaDebates #EP2019 pic.twitter.com/05j4SrjbCW

— EURACTIV Politics (@eaPolitics) September 27, 2018

According to MEP @hansvanbaalen, we need a strong and independent EU economy. He sends a message to the USA government that this would be in their interest as well, and that protectionism for the sake of protectionism never served anyone. #eaDebates #EP2019 pic.twitter.com/ZQGz3vpb7w

— EURACTIV Politics (@eaPolitics) September 27, 2018