THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Reforming Europe in a time of war

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 18 ing the Russian Federation and significantly restricting its economic capacity. In addition to the surprising military support, with the supply of both defensive and offensive weaponry via the European Peace Facility, a parallel in- ternational organisation whose first action, despite the name, has been the supply of armaments. Receipt of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe by the Presidents of the European institutions on 9 May The Conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Eu- rope were presented to the three presidents of the Euro- pean institutions – Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament; and Emmanuel Macron, President of the Council of the European Union – in the presence of the three co-presidents of the Conference on the Fu- ture of Europe – Guy Verhostadt, MEP, Dubranvka Suica, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Antonio Costas, President of Portugal, representing the Council of the EU, as Portugal held the Presidency of the Council when the Conference was inaugurated. Many of the speakers compared the military parade held in Moscow to celebrate Victory Day (9 May) to mark the Soviet defeat of the Nazis – presided over by Vladimir Putin and with the latest military hardware on display – with the European festival to commemorate 72 years of the Schuman Declaration, a celebration of democracy that was both representative and participatory: repre- sentative as it was attended by the leaders of the three EU institutions, and participatory because it included rep- resentatives of civil society and citizens, remembering and celebrating the beginnings of the European federal project, and opening a new era in the deepening of that project. What does this new era consist of? Firstly, the three presidents of the European institutions and the repre- sentatives of citizens and civil society argued for the need to deepen the model of the EU as a whole by calling a new European Convention. This call reiterated the reso- lution of the European Parliament on 4 May 2022. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced that, if there was a simple majority in the European Council, that is, the support of 14 Member states, then the European Council of 23 June – the last to be held under the French presidency – would issue such a call. These announcements met with an enthusiastic re- sponse in the Plenary, with numerous interruptions and rapturous applause, expressing a warmth of emotion that is precisely what has been lacking in the European project. It is often said that nobody falls in love with a Treaty or a Constitution but, rather, with the symbols that represent it, and that was the case here, as everybody sang the EU hymn, the Ode to Joy, performed by a young orchestra and sung in Miguel Ríos’s Spanish version. Af- terwards, many of the participants were able to greet the speakers in person, without restrictions of any kind. In other words, participatory and representative democracy were able to mingle. The invasion of Ukraine was discussed in all the debates, giving expression to European support of the heroism of the Ukrainian people. The EU is also affected by this situation, and it reaffirmed that Ukraine is not alone and that the EU will intensify its economic and hu- manitarian support, strengthening sanctions, announcing an embargo on the joint purchase of fossil fuels, and strengthening the use of legal measures to condemn the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed since the start of the invasion. Arguably, the most ambitious and daring proposals came from President Macron, who declared that we must dream and act on a grand scale and that, as Europeans, it falls on us to set a new path, one that must be commen- surate with the great challenges we face.This will require a united, ambitious, sovereign Europe. He proposed the creation of a redesigned European political communi- ty, consisting of a new political space incorporating all Europe’s sates, including those that have recently left the EU and certainly including Ukraine, others in eastern