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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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and principles in the same way that compliance with economic criteria
is monitored.
– The possibility of making use of EU funds conditional upon political and
not just economic criteria must be put on an official footing, so that
such funds are dependent – both positively and negatively – upon com-
pliance with obligations such as accepting refugee quotas or respect
for fundamental democratic requirements, such as the separation of
powers or press freedom.
– European institutions, starting with the Parliament and the Commission,
must take an aggressive stand against anti-democratic, xenophobic
and anti-European trends, ensuring that legislative backing and re-
sources are provided to programmes to counteract the false news, dis-
information and emotional manipulation that feeds ultra-nationalist
populism, combatting these energetically on social media.
– The only way to stem the tide of nationalism is to advocate social poli-
cies at both the national and the European level.
3. Reforming European monetary union
– Populism’s success in advocating nationalist alternatives can only be
halted by radically changing the neoliberal agenda of the last 15 years.
This would enable Europe to become a symbol of the political response
to globalization.
– Eurozone reform should return to the initial ideas presented by the
Commission in 2012. These embodied a balanced approach to fiscal
union. However, without greater effort to achieve economic integra-
tion, monetary union will prove unsustainable in the face of any future
crisis. We therefore need to start by establishing a European anti-crisis
fund, a bank restructuring fund, and a deposit guarantee fund.
– The new German government has agreed a policy which represents a
compromise between the principles of Ordoliberalismus and the need
to invest in social policy. This is a reasonable approach to EMU reform.
– The EU must implement a firm policy to combat tax evasion and avoid-
ance, in particularly with regard to the major tech firms, who are in the
driving seat of the digital revolution. The EU should demand US coop-
eration, which to date has been insufficient.