Response to Junckers' State of the European Union #SOTEU

First, we take a look at the case of the European Commission, as presented in the available materials. Second, we explore the response to the State of the European Union (SOTEU) address from three European think tanks.

State of the European Union debate

The case of president Jean-Claude Juncker and the European Commission is set out in the ”full picture” booklet, now available in English and French:

State of the Union 2015 – by Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission 9 September 2015 [9MB]

État de l'Union 2015 – Discours de Jean-Claude Juncker, président de la Commission européenne devant le Parlement européen le 9 septembre 2015

The broadly favourable response from the political groups and some individual MEPs is included in the multilingual verbatim record of the plenary debate.

Salvador Llaudes

In the post Juncker, el #SOTEU yun año de mandato, on the Blog Elcano, Salvador Llaudes described the commencement of the political and dynamic European Commission under the Spitzenkandidat Jean-Claude Juncker, including his initiatives to solve the Greek crisis and the first and the second refugee crisis. Public opinion is showing some signs of recognition of Junckers' rejection of past 'path dependency' and 'business as usual'.

The EU member states are still divided in this respect, which means that Juncker has to keep working to arrive at a necessary consensus.

Valentin Kreilinger

Valentin Kreilinger, of the Jacques Delors Institut Berlin, began his blog post #SOTEU:Der Kommissionspräsident alsFeuerwhrmann und Architekt by recalling the purpose of the State of the (European) Union address (here the English version, in Annex IV of the inter-institutional agreement):

5. Each year in the first part-session of September, a State of the Union debate will be held in which the President of the Commission shall deliver an address, taking stock of the current year and looking ahead to priorities for the following years. To that end, the President of the Commission will in parallel set out in writing to Parliament the main elements guiding the preparation of the Commission Work Programme for the following year.

The refugee crisis dominated Junckers' address, but he acts as a ”fireman” and an ”architect” to strengthen the ”Community method” regarding the other priorities as well. His architectural aspirations can be seen clearly in the deepening of the economic and monetary union (EMU), building on the five presidents' report.

Right after the SOTEU debate Frans Timmermans and Dimitris Avramopoulos presented the package of proposals to manage the refugee crisis, including resettlement of 120,000 asylum seekers and a permanent relocation system.

Josef Janning

In a Note from Berlin, Josef Janning of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) saw Junckers' address as a missed opportunity, because it failed to confront the slow poison of intergovernmentalism killing the European Union: More Union for the EU.

European media watch political actors struggling with major challenges to the union such as the sovereign debt crisis, the war in Ukraine, and the refugee crisis (each of them clear cases for a common response), and conclude that Europe is failing.

The EU’s underperformance stems from three trends, which seem to reinforce each other: a hybrid deepening, a utilitarian widening, and a fragmentation of the political centre (with description and reasoning about each trend in the blog post).

The refugee crisis is a case in point of the diverging union and the lack of consensus among member states.

Comment

The intergovernmental drift of the European Union towards a confederation of short-sighted and disparate member states is evident, with consequent lack of effective solutions.

For a final verdict the jury can only follow the proceedings until the five years of the European Commission are up. In the interim both Llaudes and Kreilinger attest to Junckers' leadership role.

Janning called Junckers' address a missed opportunity, but analysed the institutional failings of the European Union, viz. the lack of EU powers and the paucity of political will among the member states to act decisively on the ”big issues”.

My question is: What more could the Commission president have done, given the constraints? What can Juncker do in the future?

Like Chernyshevsky and Lenin we can ask, although this time with regard to the European Union: What Is to Be Done?

Ralf Grahn

British or European Europe?

What makes the leading government party of the biggest eurozone and EU member state tick? Despite too little, too late, Germany participates fully in all the policy areas of the European Union. For Germany, the symbols of the EU express a feeling of community in Europe.

Compare the conference of the Christian Democratic Union CDU in Leipzig – Für Europa. Für Deutschland – with the steady stream of war-like propaganda from anti-EU media and campaigners in the United Kingdom, negative public opinion, the open hostility among the political class and the efforts of successive UK governments to play as little as possible for the team, while demanding most in return.

The previous British prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown pretended that the UK was at the heart of Europe, while standing on the brake and devising opt-outs. According to David Cameron ”we sceptics have a vital point”.

Compare the European values of the CDU (and Germany) with the sovereignty cum narrow national interest discourse streaming from Westminster.

The euroblogger Jon Worth called on Labour to embrace more constructive EU politics than those expressed by the shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander. He also proposed that UK politicians should drop the indiscriminate and narrow-minded use of the 'national interest' in relation to the European Union.

For those who think that prime minister David Cameron showed great restraint and wisdom by calling for the EU to be turned into a flexible network of nation states promoting open markets, Kosmopolit wrote a long blog post on the problems of the UK's approach to the EU. Long term all the EU member states (except Britain and Denmark) are bound to join the eurozone, so where are Cameron's long term allies?

Timothy Garton Ash asks Cameron to present his vision for Europe, if he has one. At this moment Cameron's British Europe is purest waffle. Chancellor Angela Merkel's German vision for political union in Europe is still only part right, but let the European leaders choose between these alternative routes forward.



Ralf Grahn

CDU for Europe and Germany

Despite too little and too late, why is Germany more influential than the UK in the European Union?

Imagine the Conservative party conference in the United Kingdom under the motto: For Europe. For Britain.

In Germany the the theme of the main government party, the Christian Democratic Union CDU meeting in Leipzig is: Für Europa. Für Deutschland.


CDU 2011 Leipzig

The party conference supports the EU politics of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and leader of the CDU, DW-World reports (in German): Verunsicherte CDU folgt Merkels Europa-Kurs.

Merkel called for a breakthrough for a new Europe, based on the values of freedom, solidarity and justice, in the framework of a social market economy. The CDU offers highlights from Merkel's speech on Europe in a press release: ”Für Deutschland. Für Europa”.

After the epoch-making accomplishments of Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl, the task of the present generation is to complete the economic and monetary union (EMU) and to establish a political union, Merkel told the party delegates.

Europe has to emerge stronger from the debt crisis. This means more, not less Europe. If a country breaches the stability and growth pact (SGP), there has to be a right to intervene. All EU countries are part of the domestic politics of Europe, and they need to act responsibly. The constitutional rule of balanced budgets (Schuldenbremse) is one of the steps in this direction, according to Merkel.

With overwhelming support, the CDU party conference adopted guidelines equating a strong Europe with the good fortunes of Germany: Starkes Europa – Gute Zukunft für Deutschland (23 pages).

Far from the adoption of democracy and effective powers Europe needs, it still beats opt-outs, budget rebate, permanent obstructionism, constant criticism and general nastiness as means to win friends and influence people in Europe.



Ralf Grahn

More Europe Manifesto: EU symbols represent values

As I mentioned here and here, a group of Spanish eurobloggers has launched an appeal for More Europe, in order to overcome the impending catastrophe in the eurozone and the wider European Union and to start a virtuous circle of development for the citizens of the union.

You can join the appeal on the More Europe blog and you can participate in the Twitter discussion @moreurope, hashtag #moreurope.

They act as EU citizens, so they want to build on European achievements important for ordinary people. Their appeal is now available in eight languages.

After stating the need for greater European integration, they see the symbols of the European Union as important expressions of our shared values.

“More Europe” Statement

Given the dramatic social situation in many Member States caused by the economical crisis and the anti-European voices predicting the breakup of the Economic and Monetary Union, the undersigned ask for More Europe.

We consider it is necessary to move to a greater European integration in order to address the current situation of social and economic crisis affecting Europe and for this reason we will join our forces as European citizens. To achieve our goal we claim that:

-----

2) The symbols and the flag of the EU are not just objects. Otherwise they represent our values as a community, which are fundamental to the progress and democracy of the European society.

***

In a declaration (52), attached to the Treaty of Lisbon, sixteen of the member states expressed similar sentiments. They are Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic.

They declared that the flag with a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background, the anthem based on the ‘Ode to Joy’ from the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, the motto ‘United in diversity’, the euro as the currency of the European Union and Europe Day on 9 May will for them continue as symbols to express the sense of community of the people in the European Union and their allegiance to it.

The Europa portal offers you information about the symbols of the EU and additional links. Wikipedia broadens the scope to our continent Europe, with symbols from myth, history and art.

This makes me think of the Deutsches Historisches Museum, which published a catalogue with a magnificent collection of art depicting the idea of Europe (Idee Europa) through the ages, for an exhibition in 2003. I wish that every European family could have a DHM book of its own.

The appeal from the eurobloggers on the More Europe blog and on Twitter @moreurope reminds us that our common cultural roots and our shared destiny go much deeper than mere material advantages.



Ralf Grahn

Can the euro be saved?

Can the euro be saved without democratic and robust government at European level?

This is a question every EU citizen needs to think through. Our leaders are invited to start thinking about sustainable solutions.

A group of Spanish bloggers call for a better Europe, of citizens. Check and join @moreurope on Twitter and the More Europe Manifesto, already in eight languages.


Ralf Grahn

Wealth of Nations roundup

Competitiveness is at the heart of living standards and the quality of life, so our previous compilation of blog posts was a European ICT competitiveness roundup.

Here are the last July 2011 additions, which bring more European and global elements to the discussion.

Grahnlaw: European business leaders boost the European Dream (29 July 2011)

Grahnlaw: USA and EU falling behind in innovation and competitiveness (30 July 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland (in Finnish): USA ja EU: Innovaatiot ja kilpailukyky laahaavat (31 July 2011)

Eurooppaoikeus (in Finnish): Kilpailukyky: Voittajat ja haastajat (31 July 2011). - Something of a synthesis post, this one.

***

The Nordic countries are still impressive, but they have to run hard to keep their positions. The Asian tigers make huge progress and some of the new EU member states have caught up spectacularly well.

In the United States, some of the individual states are more competitive than any of the sovereign economies in the world, but is the USA as a whole in decline and without the mentality for proactive public policies to turn the tide?

Many of the members of the European Union and the EU as a whole worry me. Do the member state politicians have what it takes to achieve sustainable public finances and to make the Europe 2020 reform strategy a success story, nationally and as contributors at the EU level?

Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is a huge challenge, but shouldn't Europeans become interested in the building process, rather than waiting until things have gone wrong and showing their indignation only when already hit by the consequences?



Ralf Grahn



P.S. From Turkey, the land of Orhan Pamuk, the prolific social media activist Erkan Saka sends us one of his regular Euro updates.

Finland in Europe: Katainen government roundup

Here are a number of blog posts I have written from a European angle about the formation of the new government in Finland. The roundup takes us up to pre-visit views ahead of the first bilateral trips of prime minister Jyrki Katainen to neighbouring Sweden and Estonia, Monday 27 June 2011.

Grahnlaw: Finland: Disparate ”six-pack” government taking form (18 June 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Government programme: Finland is Nordic and European (19 June 2011)

Eurooppaoikeus (in Finnish): Eurooppaministeri Alexander Stubb - merkittävä haaste (20 June 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland (in Finnish): Hallitusohjelma: Suomi mukaan EU:n keskeisiin hankkeisiin (21 June 2011)

Grahnlaw: Katainen government formation and ministers in Finland (22 June 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Trio failure: EU General Affairs Council (23 June 2011)

Grahnblawg (in Swedish): Finland: Jyrki Katainens regering (24 June 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland (in Swedish): Katainen besöker Reinfeldt och Ansip (25 June 2011)

***

A few more posts may be forthcoming on this theme.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. The Worden Report discusses tensions between the European Union as a political union on the empire-level and national leaders' construction of the EU as an international organisation.

Online campaign challenges in Europe: Inertia and hostility

Online media, or social media, potentially cross national and linguistic borders, but both attitudes and languages present formidable challenges for Europe-wide campaigns.

Here we take a look at attitudes.



In a blog post on Europaportalen, the Swedish researcher Jakob Larsson, who works in the Institute for Futures Studies (Institutet för framtidsstudier), yesterday wondered at how sluggish media attention given to EU issues is during the run-up to the parliament election on 19 September 2010, despite their obvious importance.

Sweden is not unique. In practically all member states of the European Union political parties and media deal with political and policy issues in a national framework. This reflects voter perceptions, but it also fails to educate the public.

During the Enlightenment, some philosophers managed to propagate new ideas beyond national borders, although most people continued to toil in local communities unaware of the paradigm shift taking place.

Despite great technological advances, Europe remains almost in the same situation. European affairs are still the domain of a minority of well-informed and alert people, who understand the interdependence and interaction between politics and issues at EU level and national level. Attitudes are passive and they change slowly.



Then there are the flat-earthers who actively keep digging deeper trenches, exemplified by EUReferendum. The Battle of Britain drones on, now into its 45th day. This could be an understandable mix of history and nostalgia, were it not based on unadulterated hostility towards everything which binds Europeans together:

Fifty years of European political integration is not uniting us – it is dividing us, turning us back into enemies.

As Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Spaniards and the rest, they are our friends and allies, and deserve our respect. As "Europeans", they are Frogs, Huns, Ities, Dagos and the rest. They become our enemies and rivals. They get our enmity.

The "colleagues" need to wake up to this before it is too late. Leave us be, without trespassing on the "nooks and crannies" of our daily life and we are friends. Interfere and threaten us, and we are enemies. And they really don't want that. Look what happened last time.

A political online campaign for Europe has to contend with two attitude challenges: inertia and prejudice (even hatred).



The Campaign for a PES Primary is an example of an EU-wide political campaign, where party activists have to overcome both tardiness and hostility in order to gain wide enough support.



The Facebook campaign page has now gathered 921 members, and the grass root campaigners hope to reach 1,000 supporters by the end of August.

Not a bad start for a pioneering effort, but what (else) can civil society actors learn from the campaign?




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Comments relevant to the topic discussed in each Grahnlaw blog post are most welcome. However, the number of spam comments has skyrocketed. This is the sad reason for comment moderation, so it may take a while before your valued comment appears.

It is easier to understand a language than to use it correctly. As Eurobloggers we could and should promote interaction among Europeans across borders and between linguistic communities. Grahnlaw has adopted a multilingual comment policy:

I do my best to read comments in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish, even if the Grahnlaw blog and my possible replies are in English.



Antonia on the Euonym blog (Talking about the EU) tells us that the European Commission in the UK arranges a Day of Multilingual Blogging on 26 September 2010, and the UK Representation has been joined by the multilingual aggregator Bloggingportal.eu and individual Eurobloggers. Join the event page on Facebook, spread the word through social media and personal contacts, begin preparing your blog posts and start learning a new language.

Myths and ideas about Europe: Books in Italian

Eurogoblin’s short essay and long blog post The Christian Origins of European Unity got a warm reception from a few prominent young Eurobloggers. This inspired me to think about some of the books and booklets, which have given me pleasure through the years.

To refresh my memory, and with pleasure more than scientific merit in mind, I decided to look at my bookshelf in order to present some books I have found interesting with regard to the myths, ideas and history of European integration.

Many may be out of print, but available in libraries; others may have been published in new editions. However, here is a first instalment of old friends, this time mainly in Italian, which have given me both pleasure and knowledge.

Gerlando Lentini wrote a fairly romantic booklet with almost the same theme as Eurogoblin, the Christian roots of the European Union: Alle radici cristiane dell’Unione Europea – Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide De Gasperi (Città Nuova Editrice, 2004).



Also a slim volume, also in Italian, is Federico Chabod: Storia dell’idea d’Europa (originally 1961, but the volume I have Editori Laterza, 2001). Chabod’s lectures take us from the earliest myths about Europe to 18th century ideas. Internet Bookshop Italia seems to have an 8th edition from 2007.



The historian Heikki Mikkeli wrote Euroopan idea in Finnish (1994; 3rd edition, Suomen Historiallinen Seura, 1999). A reedited Italian version has been published: Europa – Storia di un’idea e di un’identità (il Mulino, 2002), translated from an English edition I do not possess: Europe as an Idea and an Identity (Palgrave, 1998). Mikkeli discusses Europe as an idea from early myths to the threshold of the establishment of the European Union. He traces European identity in relation to geographic and cultural borders.



Europa unita sogno dei saggi, by Maria Grazia Melchionni (Marsilio Editori, 2001) leads the reader from prehistoric times to the establishment of the Council of Europe and the first European Communities.



Sergio Romano gives a broad outline of the geography and culture of Europe, the history of the European states and of European integration until the plan for a Constitution in 2003, in: Europa – Storia di un’idea (Longanesi, 2004; a 2006 edition seems to be available).

These books invite us to think about our European cultural heritage and the ideas to overcome deep divisions created by humans.

Some people call the thinkers of European unity utopians.

What should the call the ones who destroyed or still want to disrupt those dreams?

Something to think about at the memorials dedicated to the known and unknown victims of internecine European wars.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Comments relevant to the topic discussed in each Grahnlaw blog post are most welcome. However, the number of spam comments has skyrocketed. This is the sad reason for comment moderation, so it may take a while before your valued comment appears.

It is easier to understand a language than to use it correctly. As Eurobloggers we could and should promote interaction among Europeans across borders and between linguistic communities. Grahnlaw has adopted a multilingual comment policy:

I do my best to read comments in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish, even if the Grahnlaw blog and my possible replies are in English.



Antonia on the Euonym blog (Talking about the EU) tells us that the European Commission in the UK arranges a Day of Multilingual Blogging on 26 September 2010, and the UK Representation has been joined by the multilingual aggregator Bloggingportal.eu and individual Eurobloggers. Join the event page on Facebook, spread the word through social media and personal contacts, begin preparing your blog posts and start learning a new language.

This sceptred isle or Sallust? The British are Europeans – but unaware for how long?

In an earlier post we discussed the absence of a (modern) codified Constitution and the notion of citizenship (instead, subjects of the Crown) in the United Kingdom. Many of the sources, features and procedures of the British constitutional and political system are antiquated. Who in his right mind would today resist a codified Constitution, institute a Monarchy or establish a House of Lords?



The Parliament in Westminster (House of Commons) was an important model internationally, but the first-past-the-post system does not lead to fair representation. The domestic climate in the UK regarding modern fundamental rights has been hesitant, when not outright hostile, as is current public opinion on the European Union.

Legally protected fundamental rights for citizens (or everyone within the jurisdiction) against encroachment by government are cornerstones of modern liberal political entities.



All EU member states are parties to the mother of human rights in Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; CETS No. 005 including amending protocols), which the European Union itself has pledged to accede to.



The EU also houses the next generation daughter, the more comprehensive and modern Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, legally binding since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force on 1 December 2009.



Britain, Poland and the Czech Republic have blotted their reputations by distancing themselves from the community of values formed around the EU Charter, but the Charter will still bind the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the European Union (Article 51), offering legal protection to all citizens of the EU, including the people of the laggard nations.



Looking at present and future European relations through the prism of the Battle of Britain, totally negating that Britain and the British have representation in the European Union, painting eurozone bank stress tests as pure self-deception, rejoicing at a member state (Hungary) telling the EU and the IMF to “bugger off” [until it needs massive refinancing next year], transport of joy on ConservativeHome at the absence of the EU flag when president Nicolas Sarkozy visited London (via Jason O’Mahony), a proposal to repeal the Act on Britain’s [reduced] share in financing the European Union (via Euromove) are but brief glimpses of constant sowing of discord and disinformation, intended to get the United Kingdom out of the EU or from engaging constructively even “with” (instead of in) Europe.



Much of English discourse on European integration shares the Taliban feeling that they have nothing to gain and nothing to learn from (the rest of) the civilised world. However, are these feelings of superiority well founded, when we look at the constitutional and political system, or the relationship to citizenship and fundamental rights?



Is Shakespeare’s beautiful poetry, “this sceptred isle, ... This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England” (written in approximately 1595), really a healthy philosophical foundation for the fundamental rights, or the future security and prosperity of UK subjects and EU citizens in a globalising world?



For as long as it takes for British EU citizens as a whole to become willing and able to create a constructive and mutually learning relationship in the European Union, at least the rest of the 501 million inhabitants of the EU have cause to reflect on Sallust’s wise words in the Jugurthine War about the effects of discord on political constructs:

Nam concordia parvae res crescunt, discordia maxumae dilabuntur.

The British are Europeans; they are in Europe. When is awareness going to set in? Is Sallust going to age another two millennia before it happens?




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Comments relevant to the topic discussed in each Grahnlaw blog post are most welcome. However, the number of spam comments has skyrocketed. This is the sad reason for comment moderation, so it may take a while before your pertinent comment appears.

It is easier to understand a language than to use it correctly. As Eurobloggers we could and should promote interaction among Europeans across borders and between linguistic communities. Grahnlaw has adopted a multilingual comment policy:

I do my best to read comments in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish, even if the Grahnlaw blog and my possible replies are in English.



The European Commission in the UK arranges a Day of Multilingual Blogging on 26 September 2010, joined by the multilingual aggregator Bloggingportal.eu and individual Eurobloggers. Spread the word and start preparing for the event.

Pocket-size European Human Rights

The Council of Europe (CoE) has published a small and convenient booklet with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as amended by the provisions of Protocol No. 14 which entered into force on 1 June 2010.



The Online Bookshop of the Council of Europe offers the new publication in English or French, but in each case it looks as if you have to order a set of five books (of 61 pages).

In Strasbourg the euro is strong, relatively speaking, since you get your five A6 sized booklets for EUR 5 (plus handling and postage), but the user of greenbacks has to fork out USD 10 for the same lot.



Given the smaller margins in forex markets generally, does anyone sniff opportunities for arbitrage?



The pocket-sized hard copy is easy to carry along and for quick reference, but you can still access more detailed information online for free at the CoE Treaty Office, which offers the text of all Council of Europe treaties, their explanatory reports, the status of signatures and ratifications, the declarations and reservations made by States, as well as the notifications issued by the Treaty Office since 2005.



Here you can access the text of the updated Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the official name; CETS No. 005), as well as additional information.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. The Grahnlaw blog invites comments relevant to the topics discussed, but the number and the variety of spam comments seems to be increasing steadily. This is the sad reason for comment moderation, so it may take a while before your pertinent comment appears.

It is easier to understand a language than to use it correctly. As Eurobloggers we could and should promote interaction among Europeans across borders and between linguistic communities. Grahnlaw has adopted a multilingual comment policy:

I do my best to read comments in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish, even if the Grahnlaw blog and my possible replies are in English.

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is not a bad day for Europeans to reflect on the need for government and the legitimacy of power in this global age.

Dear Readers,



the Declaration of Independence.




Ralf Grahn

Eurozone and economy now top themes on Bloggingportal.eu

Lately the ‘eurozone’ and the ‘economy’ generally have been top themes on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, which has grown to aggregate 577 euroblogs.

The new coalition government in the ‘unitedkingdom’ has also elicited a fair number of blog posts, as the tangled relationship between ‘britain’ and the rest of Europe.

However, practically all areas of EU activities are covered by passionate eurobloggers, many of them able to communicate more to the point than the institutions.

Although biased, as one of the Bloggingportal.eu editors, I feel that the portal has evolved into a solid and timely source for solid information and opinion on European Union affairs.




Besides the rewarding view of all headlines, you can opt for the editors’ choice on the front page, subscribe to RSS feeds of all posts or the promoted ones, as well as subscribe to the daily and weekly newsletter.



Take a look at Bloggingportal.eu!


Ralf Grahn

My Europe Week: Why not the United States of Europe?

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America are landmarks in human history. They attest to the continental vision and the political will of the Founding Fathers.

Still in the 21st century, Europeans cannot escape the example set by the innovative Americans at the end of the 18th century. For some visionaries the USA has been an inspiration. For others, tribal instincts are paramount, and they vehemently reject everything beyond classic international cooperation, even when sovereignty is turning into an empty shell.



When Jean Monnet became a free citizen in 1955, he named his NGO the Action Committee for the United States of Europe.


Why not USE?

Despite the inspirational value of the Founding Fathers and the subsequent development of the USA into the leading world power, it would be wrong to call the future European federation the United States of Europe.

Why?

The existing European Union is a treaty based international organisation. The EU has member states.

The coming European federation would be based on its citizens, with a democratic system of government.

Thus, the new union would primarily unite people, not states. This should be reflected in the name.


The distinction is not a new one. For instance, Umberto Campagnolo writing Repubblica Federale Europea in 1945 (new edition Rubettino, 2004; page 68) argued that the name United States of Europe would be wrong from a theoretical, historical and political viewpoint.


A federal Europe is based on representative democracy and an appropriate division of powers, based on a simple formula: How are the security and prosperity of its citizens best enhanced?

The USA became something of a melting pot of nations, but the cultural and linguistic diversity of Europe is based on existing states and linguistic communities. This is something the federation needs to serve and protect.

With regard to the daily lives of citizens, a federal system based on private initiative and complemented by local, regional and national democratic decision making would not be especially intrusive.

On the other hand, there is a need for more Europe. In fundamental policy areas our interests as citizens are best served by establishing sufficient powers at the European level according to a written Constitution, based on a principle of solidarity:

• Foreign policy, including defence
• Freedoms, justice and security
• Economic and monetary policy
• External and internal trade
• Research, communications, energy and the environment

It goes without saying that these powers require a real federal budget and that they have to be exercised through free and fair elections to the European Parliament, leading to accountable government.

If this vision seems too audacious, we can continue on the path towards decline and oblivion.

Ahead of Europe Day, your vision is welcome on My Europe Week. Share your Europe.




Ralf Grahn

My two cents worth on the UK general election

When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with an antiquated Constitution, an unfair electoral system based on a duopoly of greed and unbalanced outcomes for the subjects (called citizens elsewhere) … they should vote for change.



(Hat tip John Hancock et al)

The general election on 6 May 2010 will set the political course for Britain for the next five years, but it has European implications as well.




Ralf Grahn

Calling European bloggers: Spread the word about My Europe Week

The editors of Bloggingportal.eu invite bloggers to participate in a blog carnival, by presenting their visions for the future of Europe between 3 May and Europe Day 9 May 2010, in the language of their choice.

You can submit a text or link to a post on your own blog.

But first the word has to be spread. We have a small beginning, but we need your help: more posts in more languages to make people aware of My Europe Week.

Here are the posts and languages I have noticed this far.



English




Stephen Spillane: My Europe Week – Celebrating Europe Day Online (19 April 2010)



Grahnlaw (in English): My Europe Week is about your vision for Europe (22 April 2010)



Mathew Lowry’s Tagsmanian Devil: What Europe do you want? The My Europe Week Blog Carnival is coming (23 april 2010)



Deutsch




Martin på Europaeum: Wer Visionen hat, sollte bloggen (20 april 2010)



Svenska



(bloggen.fi) Grahnlaw: Din vision för Europa: My Europe Week (23 April 2010)



Grahnblawg: Inför Europadagen: Din vision för Europa på My Europe Week (25 April 2010)



Suomi



Grahnlaw (blogs.fi): Sinun Eurooppa-visiosi: My Europe Week (23 April 2010)



Eurooppaoikeus: Kutsu blogikarnevaaliin: My Europe Week (25 April 2010)




Ralf Grahn


P.S. You can participate under the hashtags #MyEurope and #EuropeDay on Twitter.

Bloggers of Europe, unite!

I, Resolved to add a few thoughts to the Euroblog Meet-up initiated by Joe Litobarski,


Drawing inspiration from the historic rallying call of the Communist Manifesto,


Recalling the amusement provided by the creation and propagation of the EUSSR myth,


Confirming my attachment to the vision of a vibrant Eurosphere,


Confirming my attachment to the languages of the European Union,


Desiring to encourage bloggers to read and discuss European issues of common concern,


Desiring to facilitate communication by and with EU citizens living in another member state,


Resolved to promote unity in diversity among Eurobloggers,





Have, with the sole voice of a citizen, in good and due form, decided to call on organisations and individuals active in European affairs to list their blogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu.




Done at leisure on the fourth day of December in the year two thousand and nine.


List of signatory reproduced: Ralf Grahn, EU citizen

Swiss No to minarets ─Yes to what?

Among eurobloggers at least Julien Frisch and Gulf Stream Blues have already reacted clearly against the Swiss referendum banning minarets. Erkan’s Field Diary says it at least as forcefully in a blog post he has promised to update soon: In Switzerland, Fascism seems to be getting ground…

I wrote a comment on Julien’s blog, but thought that I might post it on Grahnlaw as well:

Julien,

I agree with much of what you say. This is a sad day for Europe, of which Switzerland is a part, although somewhat apart.

A cynical campaign to sow discord has "succeeded" to do that. When we think of the disproportionate reactions to an individual Danish cartoonist and a newspaper acting within the rules of free speech, this manifestation of the will of a nation will cause feelings of humiliation and anger, easy to exploit for hate-preachers, putting Swiss diplomatic missions, firms and expats at risk (and perhaps others).

This is once again an example of the effects of referendums. Women's suffrage at the federal level was approved only in 1971 in Switzerland.

Representative democracy is to a large extent majority rule, but combined with provisions for the protection of freedoms (unalienable rights, respect for human dignity) it can help build more tolerant societies.

As you say, these questions are difficult:

I would not be comfortable with muezzins calling the faithful to prayer six times a day if using loudspeakers to overpower everything else in the vicinity, but I do not mind church bells ringing at times.

I feel split about crucifixes in secular state schools; should they be abolished through the courts, or should we tolerate different customs?

How about clothing and other symbols? Can you study, work and interact as a free citizen, if you wear a burqa? Can anyone condone genital mutilation?

Somehow we need to look for answers together, at a European level, learning from mistakes, but somehow we should preserve a sense of humanity in our efforts.

Prejudices and referendums are a lethal combination. The Swiss have shown us that.

***

In Europe as a whole and in the European Union, we cannot turn the clock back. Cultural diversity and different beliefs need to be protected, as long as they cause no real harm to the rights of others. These difficult issues are common concerns, and we need to discuss them at European level.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Do you find EUSSR myths fascinating? Are we EU citizens worth a better European Union? Educate yourself! There are already 487 Euroblogs aggregated on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. You can access all the posts on the Posts page, or concentrate on the editors’ choices on the Home page. On most of the blogs you can comment and discuss our common European future.

Mainstream media and EU-USA SWIFT agreement

Have civil society and blogging communities put the EU-US SWIFT agreement on the pages of the mainstream media, or is it the other way around?



Without possessing the philosopher’s stone on that question, I am able to report that at least some mainstream media do report on the problems associated with the “free flow” of Europeans’ financial data to the US intelligence community.

Do the results of my haphazard searches add to my confidence in mainstream media?




In the news



Is the signing of the SWIFT agreement just a formality? Not if you believe the AFP report: Austria, Germany blocking EU-US data deal: officials (27 November 2009). According to the report, Austria and Germany were still blocking the accord on Friday. Discussions were expected during the weekend, but it looks like the choice is about the duration of the agreement: six, nine or twelve months.




Europolitics, Brian Beary: Parliament pushes to delay SWIFT bank records agreement (27 November 2009). The European Parliament, in a letter by EP president Jerzy Buzek, has made a last minute appeal to the Swedish EU Council presidency to pull the agreement off the agenda. The EP wants to be fully involved under the Lisbon Treaty, which enters into force on 1 December 2009.



Spiegel Online, Hans-Jürgen Schlamp: Spying on Terrorist Cash Flows ─ EU to Allow US Access to Bank Transaction Data (27 November 2009) says that it looks like the EU is going to agree to the controversial SWIFT deal, referring to massive US pressure. According to this report, both Germany and Austria have given in and the EU Council is expected to sign an agreement “politically divisive and of dubious legality”.



Deutsche Welle: Datenschutz – Erlaubt Europa US-Konto-Spionage? (27 November 2009) presents the member state governments railroading the EU-US agreement while bypassing the European Parliament.



EUobserver, Valentina Pop: MEPs flex legal muscles over police reforms ahead of new treaty (25 November 2009) noted that an initiative by the Green group to thwart the EU-US bank data transfer deal fell through, and member states’ ministers were likely to adopt the SWIFT banking agreement on Monday. According to diplomatic sources, the prospect of having to start from scratch was incentive enough for the member states to adopt the deal on Monday.



Baltic Review, by eurotopics: Brussels too soft on the US (26 November 2009) publishes an opinion by Die Presse: The SWIFT deal is a further example of Washington not taking the EU seriously.



Tagesschau: Länder stemmen sich gegen SWIFT-Abkommen (27 November 2009) notes that the Bundesrat (where the Länder are represented) has demanded better data protection, but that the resolution is not legally binding on the German federal government. German politicians and the banking sector have criticised the low data protection standards. The German data protection supervisor Peter Schaar had criticised the SWIFT deal as a massive breach of fundamental rights, and signing the agreement would lead to would lead to legal challenges in the German federal constitutional court and the European Court of Justice. Schaar could not see the agreement as constitutional. Politically it was still unclear if Germany with abstain or vote against on Monday, although CDU spokesman Hans-Peter Uhl considered an agreement necessary in the fight against terrorism.



Heise Online, Stefan Krempl: Bundesrat warnt vor Wirtschaftsspionage durch SWIFT-Abkommen (28 November 2008) is quality reporting with useful links, i.a. to the decision by the Bundesrat (Drucksache 788/09; 27 November 2009), which details the concerns of the German Länder.



Romandie News has published an AFP bulletin: Terrorisme : les Européens divisés sur l’accès aux données bancaires (27 November 2009).

There are a number of newspaper articles in German quality media such as Die Zeit, Die Welt and others (but I only have one life).


***


Watchdogs?


During my somewhat random search, I have noticed that there has been serious and continuing discussion about the SWIFT agreement issues in German(y).

By the way, to cut a few historical corners, the Federal Republic of Germany was essentially an American creation, endowed with a Basic Law designed to respect parliamentary procedures and enshrining human rights. Right now it looks like the lessons have succeeded, with Germany just about the only place where fundamental rights are taken seriously, and the old US teachers in need of enlisting as pupils.

In addition to German media, there are also some fairly ‘non-national’ reports by news agencies or media with an EU focus or international readership, but traditional national media seem to have been fast asleep, unworried by their governments and politicians, too placid to dig on their own.

Naturally, I may be completely mistaken, having missed journalistic feats in languages unknown by me (and unrepresented in my web searches), but this is my first impression. Pray, tell me that I’m wrong.

Are social media, such as blogs, responsible for this decline, too?




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Do you find EUSSR myths fascinating? Are we EU citizens worth a better European Union? Educate yourself! There are already 487 Euroblogs aggregated on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. You can access all the posts or concentrate on the editors’ choice. On most of the blogs you can comment and discuss our common European future.

Thanksgiving from EU

Thanksgiving is an opportunity to express gratitude. From the perspective of a citizen of the European Union, there are a few things I would like to thank the United States for:

• The Declaration of Independence 4 July 1776: We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ─ That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed…
• The wisdom to abandon the Articles of Confederation after only a decade of a confederation of states.
• The wisdom of the Philadelphia Convention on 17 September 1787 to agree on the Constitution of the United States of America.
• James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, who wrote The Federalist Papers (1787-1788).

It took much more vision and courage to establish a republican, federal system of government more than 200 years ago in America, almost without models, than it would take to build a democratic federation in 21st century Europe.

Thank you USA for showing us that.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Do you find EUSSR myths fascinating? Are we EU citizens worth a better European Union? Read some or all of the 481 Euroblogs aggregated on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. On most of the blogs you can comment and discuss our common European future.