Cost of living crisis is reshaping EU politics as migration and climate lose steam

Irregular migration and climate change are receding into the background.

Decades after the financial crisis, developments in the European Union were dominated first by the issue of uncontrolled migration and later by climate change. Both dominant topics substantially reshaped not only the political forces within the bloc. They shaped the most fundamental EU policies, determined the character of public space and brought new political forces to power.

The fight against people fleeing from the Middle East, Asia and Africa gave rise to a number of nationalist parties across the old continent – in the Czech Republic, Tomio Okamura and his Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) capitalised on the topic, in Italy it was Matteo Salvini’s Northern League (Lega Nord), and in Germany the Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Caution about environmental protection and the need to respond to climate change were used by parties from the other side of the spectrum, such as the German Greens, but also by French president Emmanuel Macron.

Over time, however, the urgency of both topics weakened, even though irregular migration still ranks among the greatest fears felt by EU citizens.

After the pandemic, another huge challenge was added: the cost of living. This was the case already during the 2024 European elections. Inflation (42 percent) and the economic situation (41 percent) were the main topics that motivated European citizens to vote in the last European elections, according to figures from a 2024 Eurobarometer.

Domestically, and especially in urban areas where about 75 percent of the EU population lives, housing prices have soared to unimaginable heights and, combined with high inflation linked to the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the cost of living has again become one of the defining issues.

Within Europe, inflation, rising prices, and the cost of living (41 percent) remain the top issues that citizens want the European Parliament to address, according to a 2026 Eurobarometer.