Europe today and the road to tommorow
Apr 22nd, 2012 by admin
In Europe, economic meltdown split the unity of the Union. As Herman Van Rompuy has pointed out, Europe has now reached a point where it can’t finance its social model anymore. Worse still, its financial ills could lead to a domino effect, in which: Greek banks collapse, then French banks collapse, and at the end U.S. banks collapse. The European economy appears to have survived the worst of the crisis and to be on the road to recovery but the road is full on obstacles and in the horizont we see a new crises.
However, progress towards this goal is hampered by political hesitations and politicians’ doubts about their performance in future elections. As long as we do not revised the European Constitution and we do not do a real integration of states we will do not have the power to cross over all the difficulties.
At the Frankfurt headquarters of the European Central Bank, and in capital cities throughout Europe, political and economic decision makers are attempting to find a solution, which may involve more austerity, more EU solidarity, or even banking sector participation and sovereign default.
Amid conflicting calls for more federalism and the defense of national interests, European leaders are at a loss as to which course to take. Terrorized by the power of the markets and rating agencies, they appear incapable of the decisive action that is urgently needed if the situation is to be brought under control.
Gathered around Germany, “ten countries have formed the ‘Berlin Club’ to revive the European project” following a dinner hosted in Berlin by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. The minister invited only those European Foreign Ministers considered to be “the most Europhile,” from Poland, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Luxemburg, Spain, Denmark and France (the latter two did not attend). Westerwelle’s goal is to –… create a kind of ‘club’ committed to developing formulas that, in these times of crisis, will revive the ideal of a united Europe. The group, which is scheduled to meet at least four more times, will discuss such issues as increased cooperation of fiscal and economic policies, efforts to stabilize growth and the euro, as well as border controls and security policies. The group will present its conclusions in a final document.
During an informal meeting of European Foreign Ministers, Guido Westerwelle – … was in favor of reopening the discussion on the need for a European Constitution, but there is no consensus on the subject among the 27 member states.
Thousands of young people educated are leaving Portugal and Spain. Europe doesn’t need them while Africa and South America receive them with open arms. Thousands of young educated people from Romania are leaving for Western countries leaving back hospital without doctors, school without teachers.
Those made redundant in Europe – engineers, architects, construction workers – are received with open arms in Africa and South America. Brazil is at full steam preparing for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic games. Engineers and architects are being recruited on a great scale for public projects, including $200 billion-worth projects in the power industry.
Rich in oil, diamonds and other natural resources, Angola is one of the fastest growing countries in the world today. Annual GDP growth reaches 15 percent here and 3,000 Portuguese companies operate throughout the country, building roads, bridges, skyscrapers, railroads, pipelines. The country, for thirty years ravaged by a civil war that ended just a decade ago, is short of specialists, while Portugal suffers from a surplus of skilled labor.
In the former colonies the language barrier doesn’t exist and cultural adaptation is smooth.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, some 2 million Spaniards came to Argentina as third-class passengers, mainly from Galicia, the country’s poorest, farming region, which is why Spaniards are called gallegos in Argentina today. In the second half of the 20th century, first the dictatorship and then the crisis of the 1990s brought Argentinians to Europe.
Now the trend has reversed. But perhaps the reversed migration is the consequence of much more profound changes taking place in the world. The balance of power between the West and the rest of the world or, if you will, between North and South, is shifting.
We Europeans, if we want to have a voice in the future order of the world we have to work together to create a EU adapted to the new rules, different from the one created during the European Coal and Steel Community.
The European Union was built on a dual dynamic. On one hand, countries have gradually ceded sovereignty, especially in economic affairs. This sovereignty has been transferred to supranational institutions in charge of the governance of the EU. On the other hand, countries have decided to manage other issues (for instance, some aspects of foreign or military policy) in a horizontal, intergovernmental way. Under this second mechanism, countries keep their sovereignty.
This dual dynamic often creates tension between supranational organizations and member states.
The debate around Schengen clearly illustrates the basic contradiction that exists at the heart of EU institutions.
Facing a potential reform of the treaty, the European Commission saw an opportunity to increase its prerogatives. Member countries viewed the Commission’s intentions as a threat to their sovereignty. The tension between national interests and supranational integration has been a characteristic of the EU since its birth almost six decades ago.
However, as the integration process deepens, the issues in dispute become more fundamental and the concessions of sovereignty grow more painful. As a result, the choices for member countries will become increasingly harder to make and the pressures on the EU will become more intense.
In a changing world, we want the EU to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. These three mutually reinforcing priorities should help the EU and the Member States deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion.
Unfortunately every new Europe always ends up as old Europe.