The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

THE CHALLENGE OF EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP: FREEDOM, PARTICIPATION, WELFARE AND CULTURE 71 making within the Council should be democra- tized, with the abolition of national vetos, particularly with regard to foreign policy, taxa- tion, multi-annual budgeting and resources. The passerelle clauses of the Treaty of Lisbon provide a possible means of addressing this, so long as there is unanimous agreement among Member states regarding their activation. Finally, serious consideration should be given to combining the role of president of the European Council with that of president of the Commission, to reduce the imbalance in favour of the former, a solution that is not excluded by the wording of the Treaty of Lisbon. Under this approach, the head of the Commission, elected according to the Spitzenkandidat principle, would also become the president of the European Council, and this individual would then be a “European president”, on a par with the leaders of powers such as Russia and the United States. With respect to economic and social rights, we can also say that Europe is more wide-rang- ing and generous in this area, despite the re- grettable rise in inequality as a result of miscon- ceived austerity policies implemented by EU institutions under the control of the centre-right during the period 2009 to 2014. For European citizens, social welfare continues to be primarily the responsibility of Member states, although the EU has significantly strength- ened the employment rights of workers. However, the tax-raising capacity of these states has been constrained by the impact of globalization, both in financial services and manufacturing, while they are also required to comply with the public deficit and sovereign debt limits established in the Stability and Growth Pact. It is therefore reasonable for European citi- zenship to include a powerful social dimension, which would also help to bolster public support for the integration project. Although the 2014- 2019 legislature approved the European Pillar of Social Rights, this is not legally binding. The anti-cyclical version of the projected eu- rozone budget could be used to fund an unem- ployment insurance system to complement na- tional systems. Beyond that, if inflation rates remain low, the EU would easily be able to guar- antee a minimum income to citizens of the euro- zone, either as an occasional or annual contribu- tion, via the ECB, and thus having no impact on public deficits. This transfer is possible within the framework of the existing statutes of the ECB, so long as the inflation target is not exceeded. Finally, it is essential to promote the cultural dimension of European citizenship, firstly be- cause human beings can never be content sole- ly with satisfying their material needs, and sec- ondly, because any sense of belonging to the EU must entail an emotional component draw- ing on a post-national identity in which the arts, shared history and creativity all play an es- sential role. Strengthening European identity has been one of the specific objectives of the EU since the European Council of Stuttgart in June 1983, but it requires fresh impetus. In particular, there needs to be a shared curriculum for teaching European and global citizenship, and a pro- gramme to support research into and dissemi- nation of Europe’s cultural heritage, which is more than the mere sum or combination of ex- isting national cultures. Without these two elements, many European citizens will remain unaware of the rights and opportunities the union offers, or of their ori- gins, values and shared cultural heritage. It is dif- ficult to love something that you don’t under- stand.