Navigating the transition: Unraveling the EU's different imaginaries for a just future

The European Union has translated the imperative of just transition into a comprehensive mix of instruments. In this way, the EU formulates its future visions of a just and sustainable European society. However, researchers have not yet examined the mix of instruments as an object of “making of futures”. To understand these future visions and the practical implications for the implementation of the instrument mix, our paper draws on the concept of imaginaries. Through a typological analysis of the instruments, we reveal that the instruments are rooted in two distinct imaginaries. The Impact Mitigation Imaginary conservatively seeks to mitigate the negative impacts of transition on the socio-economic status quo. The Social Justice Imaginary, by contrast, progressively aims for a more equitable society during the transition. Considering also the implementation aspects of the instruments, we show that the instrument mix is inconsistent and only partially credible. We conclude that the implementation of the mix shifts the negotiation between progressive and conservative visions of a just and sustainable future to the national level with its own (power) interests. In this process, several implementation challenges may arise. • Uses the concept of imaginary to analyse EU´s future visions within the Just Transition instrument mix. • Demonstrates that the EU Green Deal contains two imaginaries: a conservative imaginary and a progressive imaginary. • Discusses the instrument mix as inconsistent and only partly credible. • Emphasises the national level´s crucial role in negotiating the visions and addressing the implementation challenges.