Russia’s invasion of Ukraine revealed Europe’s complacency and a “new paradigm” is needed, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said at the Jacques Delors Institute’s annual conference on Tuesday (28 June).
Read the article in its original French.
“Russia’s invasion has exposed the failure of our collective memory. We had become accustomed to living in democracies and forgot that some of our neighbours want to see democracy disappear,” Metsola told an audience of 100 young pro-Europeans at the conference.
The EU “let itself be surprised”, even though the risks were known, she continued, adding that even sending weapons in the wake of the conflict “was not quick enough”.
Discussions at the conference – which was themed ‘The Promise of Europe’ – saw key European actors discuss a range of topics concerning the future of the region against the backdrop of the ongoing war on its doorstep.
The conference also marked the closing of the Notre Europe Academy training cycle created in 2017. The Academy aims to strengthen ‘European citizenship’ among young people, the institute’s Director-General Sébastien Maillard said.
Alongside Ukraine, questions over the health of Europe’s democracies and citizen participation were high on the event’s agenda.
“Abstention rates in European elections are far too high. The EU suffers from not knowing how to talk to young people: what are their frustrations? What do they want from Europe? My job is to give them answers,” Metsola told EURACTIV France after the conference.
As parties at the extreme end of the political spectrum continue to gain ground, we need to “change the narrative” and face the real issues, Metsola said.
“We need to ensure that every citizen has adequate protection from the state. It is also our responsibility to address economic injustices,” she said, adding that tackling such issues could enable the building of a “broad constructive centre”.
“A new paradigm” is what’s needed, Metsola urged. The EU must “take ownership and shape its own destiny, regardless of the threats to its eastern borders”.
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Reviewing EU-China relations
For the EU to enter this new phase, however, lawmakers are first tasked with defining the contours of their vision for the future.
During the French Presidency of the EU Council, French President Emmanuel Macron put forward the concept of “strategic autonomy”, part of which would require a review of the EU’s current relationship with China.
Regarding relations, Metsola told EURACTIV France: “The last EU-China summit left much to be desired. China obviously remains an economic partner, but issues relating to fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic minorities in China must be put on the table.”
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On the sidelines of the triumphant rhetoric over Ukraine and Moldova’s imminent granting of EU candidate status, EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday (23 June) faced furious Western Balkan counterparts, highly frustrated about the lack of their own progress on the EU path.
Unanimity voting now obsolete
The question of defining this “new paradigm” formed the cornerstone of the remarks of Enrico Letta, Delors Institute president, the Secretary of the Italian Democratic Party and former Council of Ministers president.
“We woke up on 24 February [the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine] in a world where matters of war and peace have once again become central to European debates,” he said.
According to him, the new situation in Ukraine shows that the unanimity voting procedure for foreign policy matters is outdated.
“Europe will never be strong on foreign policy issues without a rethinking of the unanimity principle. The right of veto undermines the credibility of the EU,” he said.
On the European Council granting EU candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova on 23 June, Letta said the EU had sent a “historic message”. He also said he backs Macron’s plan to create a “European political community” that could forge strong relations between the EU, candidate countries and neighbouring countries that share European values.
“Between EU candidate status and full membership, there is nothing. It’s hell”, he said.
When asked about notions of European democracy, the institute’s president acknowledged that “votes in European elections are, above all, national votes. The European vote does not exist today”. According to him, EU-wide transnational lists would allow citizens to reconnect with “their” Europe.
A well-needed rethink
France’s EU Minister Clément Beaune echoed some of Letta’s remarks, stressing the “need for unity” among EU countries in response to Russian aggression and the importance of making an honest and credible “promise of Europe” to new candidate countries, Ukraine and Moldova.
“This war follows several European and global crises” which have forced the EU to change its ways of functioning, said Beaune.
On top of the UK withdrawing from the bloc in 2016 and the pandemic forcing EU states to agree on a common debt mechanism, the war in Ukraine had forced EU actors to “review [their] modes of action,” he said.
The war is no different: it has imposed a “rethink from the ground up” of the EU’s approach to its geopolitical strategy and sovereignty, particularly regarding arms distribution, the minister said.
It is now up to the Czech Presidency of the Council, starting on 1 July, to define what this ‘rethinking’ really means.
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Because of his thirst for political “revenge”, France’s radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been sending inconsistent messages regarding Russia’s aggression in Ukraine unlike President Emmanuel Macron, who has been clear since day one that Russia is guilty, French EU …
[Edited by Alice Taylor/Nathalie Weatherald]
Source: euractiv.com
