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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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public opinion has become more favourable to the European Union. This
situation provides new opportunities for pro-European initiatives: we need
a politics that is informed by a sense of proportion, proceeding gradually
on the basis of flexible political coalitions between different Member
States. Structured or consolidated partnerships can be a useful tool.
However, this gradualist approach must be combined with a clear view
of the direction of travel. The European Union has lost sight of its goals
and its vision and has become an easy target for doubters and sceptics.
But a new Europe is on the way, one that is growing out of a response to
the crisis and is not in opposition to nation states but instead seeks to work
in partnership with them. One of the sources of hope for Europe lies in
inter-dependent units such as cities and regions. This is a process that must
be driven by Europe’s citizens. The Europe of the future will not be a tra-
ditional state, nor will it be a club of regional separatists; rather, it will be
a networked project of the twenty-first century, inspired by federal ideals.
In autumn 2017 the French president, Emmanuel Macron, presented
his vision of a refounded Europe in a speech addressed, above all, to
Germany. Macron aspires to build a European Union that looks not to the
past but to the future: Europe must be “more sovereign, more united and
more democratic”; in other words, it must be more independent in its
external relations and more interdependent internally.
Macron’s project is also a response to the new populism of the right,
and to nationalism and separatism. These trends are fuelled not just by the
economic crisis and rising social inequality but also by the reaction to the
open immigration and integration policy, and indignation against a politics
that is imposed “from above” without involving citizens. It is a populism
whose roots are both cultural and irrational.
But if there is one thing that is more dangerous than the populists and
the separatists themselves it is being afraid of them. The Italian election
result has produced great uncertainty. That the third-largest economy of
the eurozone should have to choose between a Eurosceptic far right and
a confused movement which, until recently, was also anti-European, is
disturbing to say the least. The collapse of social democracy in France and
Italy and its greatly weakened position in Germany does not augur well for
the future of the EU. Despite this, the coalition agreement in Germany,
with a detailed social and European agenda, offers a positive outlook for
Europe as a whole if this programme is implemented with commitment
and courage.
Democracy needs to offer different options, sovereignty needs to be
meaningful, and globalization needs to be endorsed. In Europe, democracy