2009-2012

We’re still not out of the euro crisis yet, but thanks to the decision takens by the eurozone’s governments to immediately launch the budgetary and banking union, the German Parliament’s approval of both the fiscal compact and the ESM, as well as similar commitments by France, Italy, and Spain, things have changed and we now have new opportunities of making Europe.

Governments in Europe are becoming aware of the fact that the lack of effective monetary union governance instruments is the key reason behind the strong and long-lasting speculative attack against the euro, as well as addressing the main problems related to the budgetary and fiscal union, and strengthening the political union among eurozone countries.

The United Kingdom’s self-exclusion from the agreement through which France and Germany intended to start strengthening the monetary union represents a huge political split, which is crucial to make the progress needed by the european process.

Given the uncertainty of the world’s economic, political, and financial situation, the weak likelihood of integration at a euro-mediterranean level, which adds up to the european inability to propose a co-development plan for africans, serious doubts arise as to whether or not the arab springs will be successful.

Europeans still haven’t acknowledged the fact that the euro crisis has not only laid bare the weakness of the Union’s rules, but it has also forced them to decide who will be the european sovreign.

At a global level markets saw Europe as the weakest player, hence the one on the losing side. The real challenge for europeans is to relaunch the project of a european federation, in order to overcome the EU way according to which matters that are crucial to citizens are still in the hands of Member States. To overcome the german fears concerning the financial costs of this operation, we need France to open up to sharing soverignty on security and foreign policy.

In a would-be enlarged Europe, although they continue to believe in the project of uniting Europe citizens are still trapped in a national framework in which this project is no longer on the agenda, and this condems them to international irrelevance. We need to change the course through an initiative aiming at the political unification of a handful of countries, and safeguard the general acquis communautaire at the same time.

The European project stalled following the Lisbon Treaty. The German constitutional court itself reminded us that the core matters cannot be “communitised” as a majority vote within the council would violate democratic rights. It’s only through an explicit constituting act that we can make the political union possible, and it can only come from an initial small group of countries.

The success of populist movements during the last european elections confirms the citizens disaffection towards this Europe which isn’t able to. The Schauble-Lamers proposal of a multi-speed Europe, which dates back to 15 years ago, comes back with every crises because the fact that this is the only way to overcome the stalemate paralysing Europe is unquestionable.

The anti-crisis measures implemented by the governments are proving ineffective, and they’re undermining the principles of the monetary and economic union. On the contrary, the issuing of eurobonds and the creation of a european economic governance would increase Europe’s reactivity, even though they entail giving up a method based on the Member State’s acceptance of collective rules.