At 60, European Union is a shadow of its former self
Issues such as youth unemployment and migration have plagued the bloc and threaten to disintegrate it
Europe is at a crossroads, needing to evolve or face the real risk of breaking apart. Terrorism, Brexit and populism are all exogenous forces pushing the European Union toward either renewal or failure. A worried EU needs to decide the path to take and how to reshape itself.
A real debate on the future of the EU began on March 25 at a summit in Italy’s capital to mark the 60th anniversary of the EU’s founding document, the Treaty of Rome.
European heads of state discussed EU President Jean-Claude Juncker’s post-Brexit roadmap that calls for a new multi-speed Europe. His white paper on March 1 outlined five possible scenarios for the bloc’s future, starting with business as usual and on to deepened and differentiated integration across areas.
On March 25, 1957, at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome that marked the start of the European Economic Community by establishing a common market based on “four freedoms”— the free movement of persons, services, goods and capital.
“The summit will not give answers nor lead to immediate decisions, but it was an opportunity for debate on the many differences to be discussed in the coming months,” said Ettore Greco, Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome. “Above all, economic integration and solidarity towards refugees need to be further discussed, and also vulnerable citizens.”
Security was high in Rome with two security zones placed around key government buildings for Saturday’s event. Two sets of protest marches were authorised, with around 6,500 pro-EU demonstrators expected in the morning and 13,000 anti-EU protestors in the afternoon.
EU leaders used the anniversary to hail the peace and prosperity they say the project brought to Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Yet though the common market was intended to create conditions for stability and prosperity, the reality today is many European citizens are far from prosperous.
“Many Europeans have lost hope that their children will have a better living standard in future than they have,” said Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones, financial markets programme director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University. She said today’s EU reality runs counter to the objectives in the Treaty of Rome, which declared its mission to “promote throughout the Community harmonious development of economic activities, continuous and balanced expansion, increased stability, an accelerated rise in the standard of living”.
Europe now faces complex issues that demand a resolution: the NorthSouth divide, the dominance of Germany, terrorism, a productive Eurozone economy, the migration crisis and severe youth unemployment. “Income inequality is high in most countries, while investment, even in successful Germany, is fairly low,” said Griffith-Jones.
“There are alternative policies that can lead to far better economic outcomes in terms of growth, employment and income distribution,” she said. “It is key that progressive parties provide a comprehensive policy package, which they alone can formulate and deliver properly. Conservative parties have broadly failed in this endeavour; extreme right-wing parties would make matters far, far worse. An alternative would include increasing both public and private investment, greater symmetry between current account surplus and deficit countries, and stronger worker bargaining rights leading to higher real wages.”
“Equity, growth, solidarity” are the pillars of Europe’s future, said Griffith-Jones. Even though all EU economies have been growing since 2016, and projected to do so over the next two years, Europe needs to fight against the social inequities already outlined in its treaties. The founding fathers, who prepared the Treaty of Rome, optimistically assumed that growing cohesion would result from supranational economic cooperation. Today the challenge remains: A future Europe has to provide new opportunities and new securities and engage more with citizens.
Despite the many disagreements among member countries, support for the EU has risen across Europe in recent months. Genuine pro-EU groups such as the Pulse of Europe movement founded by a Frankfurt lawyer are active in several countries.
According to a recent survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation, pro-EU sentiment is on the rise, especially in Germany, Poland, France and Italy. The only large country to see a fall in support is Spain.
But intrinsically populist Euroscepticism is also high as citizens question the very raison d’être of the confederation. “Anti-EU sentiment is due to the fact that the European Union has fallen short in responding to the economic crisis while national political elites blamed the EU for their individual responsibilities and failures,” said Greco. “To stay united is extremely important to face the worst challenges: Brexit and Trump policies that impact the EU,” he said. “But also further differentiation is needed if the EU wants to cope with current and future challenges.”
Péter Balázs, Professor of International Relations at Central European University in Budapest, said 2017 will be the year “political forces of integration and disintegration will fight their great battle”. Yet he envisions “European integration as a political masterpiece, opening a vast area of cooperation by interconnecting several states. Mutual economic gains help remove old national controversies and foster solidarity.” Mariella Radaelli and Jon Van Housen are editors at Luminosity Italia, a news
agency based in Milan, Italy