Paper 4

How can we reinvent Europe?

Almost 70 years after its launch, the European construction is in a very critical state. The Old Continent – once seen as a global leader – is facing demographic, migration and security problems, as well as far too weak economic growth.

Many European citizens are disenchanted with the European Union and doubt its added value. Too many Europeans feel excluded from progress and are worried about their future, and they hold the EU partly responsible. The Brexit vote is proof of this.

The EU played the globalisation card to the full and opened its doors to products from all over the world, with relocations and factory closures as a consequence. Consumers have everything they want at their disposal, but if they are unemployed or on a minimum wage, they cannot afford it. The EU appears as a large bureaucratic machine locked in its bubble, a factory of norms and regulations that does not solve the problems of the man in the street.

These criticisms all contain an element of truth, and are amplified by a press that feasts on negativity and exploited by populist politicians whose policies are based on denigration. A gap has opened between the elites and a population that feels it is a victim of globalisation and is ready to listen to the populist sirens who advocate withdrawal into oneself and the building of protective barriers.

Faced with these attacks, the EU defends itself poorly and has very bad spokespeople. It must explain its raison d'être better and make people understand that, faced with the challenges of the present and future world, every European country loses if it tries to face them alone by withdrawing into itself. The heaviest European country represents only 5% of the world economy and barely 1% of the world population.

Explaining itself better is not enough. To survive, Europe must reinvent itself. It must reform to function better, but above all it must regain its popularity and rekindle Europeans' enthusiasm.

The EU can no longer give the impression of being the EU of the elites; it must become once again the one that the average European wants to belong to. It must be given back a positive emotion, a dynamic of progress for all Europeans. The average European must also feel that the EU protects them in terms of security, economy and society.

A Federal Europe is now in trouble and has little chance of winning the support of a majority of Europeans. We must therefore strengthen the European Union of Nations: a democratic, effective and protective Union.

The structure and governance of the Union today suffer from being multi-headed, with no clear definition of hierarchies and no real leadership. The roles and limits of responsibility and intervention of the European Council, Commission and Parliament must be clarified, as must the areas in which they intervene, the others being left to the free governance of the nations.

The President of the Council must be a politician of stature, able to play a mediating and arbitrating role within the Council and to express Europe's voice abroad. The Council (or the Parliament?) would be responsible for presenting three candidates, from among whom European citizens would choose by vote during the parliamentary elections. The selection criteria and method will be identical for the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs.

The unanimity rule will be replaced by that of the double two-thirds majority, i.e. two-thirds of the member countries representing at least two-thirds of the EU population, except in areas that touch on the European Constitution, which remain subject to the unanimity rule.

The size of the Commission must be reduced, and its action limited to essential areas of general interest, all of which must be clearly identified and defined. The number of Directorates-General and Commissioners will be reduced accordingly. The Parliament will choose the President of the Commission. Each country may nominate a candidate commissioner, from among whom the President will make his or her choice. The Parliament will confirm or reject each name individually.

The members of the Spring group recommend that the Union's action focus primarily on the following six areas:

1. Citizens' security, fight against terrorism with cooperation between services and exchange of information; maintaining free movement in the Schengen area with reinforced external borders. Control of immigration, harmonisation of the criteria for asylum and for the return of ineligible migrants.

2. European Defence. Europe's voice is weak if it does not have a strong military defence. Without breaking its cooperation with NATO, Europe must be able to make its own strategic choices, define its priorities and give preference to the purchase of European-made weapons.

3. Strengthening the Euro zone through fiscal convergence, the pooling of debts, and the pooling of expenditure such as the control and reception of migrants and certain major infrastructure, research and defence investments. The Euro zone will have its own governance.

4. Trade and industrial policy. Europe must better defend its economic interests and protect jobs against price dumping and other unfair competition practices.

5. A Europe of Knowledge. Language learning, strengthening of the Erasmus programme, development of digital technology, networking of universities.

6. A Europe of the Future. Research, development and implementation of the transport, energy and housing of the future. Protection of the environment through the development of less energy-intensive and non-polluting manufacturing techniques and of recycled materials, and through the fight against waste.

The resurgence of populism in many countries of the Union on the one hand, and the Brexit affair on the other, show us that young people are relatively absent from today's European political debates: fatigue, disappointment, feeling unconcerned, destabilised, lack of will to take initiative… perhaps even a bit of all of these.

In France, for example, more than 60% of 18-to-35-year-olds no longer vote. The old saying “If you don't take an interest in politics, politics will take an interest in you” is more relevant than ever. And yet there is no lack of means of communicating, participating and sharing made available to young people today. The social networks and the platforms for dialogue and exchange that they master with ease should lead them to use these means to defend the values of Europe as well.

Young Europeans must take ownership of this European project, notably by voting meaningfully in the European elections, because it is their future that is at stake. And we… we have an obligation to make them aware that it is high time to mobilise to reinvent Europe!

January 2017