According to recent surveys, euroscepticism is gaining ground. Only 30% of Europeans still have a positive image of the European Union, an alarming figure in view of the fact that the European elections will take place in a year’s time.
What is more, in almost every country, anti-Europe parties are moving up in the polls while pro-Europe parties are falling behind.
What kind of democracy can still claim to have strong legitimacy in the face of this manifest disenchantment?
Let’s not kid ourselves: if voting rates are this low, the European Union’s legitimacy will be seriously undermined.
Recent news from Brussels does not support the hope for better dialogue. The European summit of 22 May failed miserably to tackle the tax evasion scandal which costs each European 2 000 euros a year. While Spain is cutting its education budget, the Greek Red Cross is struggling to pay for blood and in some countries more than one in two young people cannot find work, the EU cannot even recover a microscopic percentage of the 1 000 billion euros which vanish into thin air every year from the Member States’ empty coffers!
Even worse, the prevaricating which has been going on for years has sent a signal that Europe is weak and scarcely able to deal with a situation within its own borders. How can it defend the interests of its people and our social values in an ever more competitive global economy?
We have one year to make sure that 25 May 2014 does not mark the final divorce between Europeans and Europe, and that the elections are an opportunity for genuine democratic debate on issues of concern to Europeans rather than a referendum on Europe. 365 days to make sure that the European Union becomes more than it is now – and that it means something to Europeans. Just 365 days to ensure that each and every European knows that voting in the European elections is important – for their daily lives, for society and for the protection of what is dear to them. To make sure, in short, that they want to go and vote, come rain or shine.
So without losing time, I urge my colleagues in the European Economic and Social Committee, my friends in national and European civil society organisations and European citizens to join forces with me in support of a few practical proposals to make Europe change course:
– For a minimum income in Europe
– For a European apprenticeship scheme to ensure that every young jobseeker is given a place in a company
– To lay the groundwork for a boom in corporate start-ups
– To revive industry in Europe and support thousands of new European leaders such as Airbus
– To stimulate the creation of European universities
– To use European funds to revitalise abandoned rural areas.
