Untying Europe

The long-awaited news has finally arrived. On 3 February 2021, the Member States of the European Union approved the format of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which will finally be launched on 9 May 2021, Europe Day, under the Portuguese presidency, with the tagline "if the health circumstances linked to the pandemic allow it".  It reduces its duration from two to one year (which significantly affects the scope for action), and will have the joint presidency of the heads of the main EU institutions, thus avoiding the obvious difficulty in finding an “eminent European personality” would act as the Conference's “independent and single chair”, as stated in the initial proposal, which was one of the reasons for the delay in launching it. The initiative should have been launched on 9 May 2020, as a commitment made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her inaugural speech in July 2019, and coinciding with the EU Summit of Heads of State or Government, which was planned to be organised under the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Dubrovnik. 

Unfortunately, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, bringing to a halt what had seemed to be an unstoppable advance towards progress that had been steadily making headway in the face of a multitude of challenges and crises, such as the global economic crisis of 2008, from which we were beginning to recover, accompanied by the Euro crisis in this region of the world, which put many European countries in check and created division among them due to the austerity measures that were taken to alleviate it. The refugee and humanitarian crisis, which put us before the mirror of what Europe is and should be, making us feel ashamed of ourselves as a project, many unaware that the European Union had no powers to deal with it and that the decisions were taken in the member states, in some of them with much inadequacy, it must be said, and provoking a citizen reaction that invited us to seek solutions and take urgent measures, demanding "More Europe". We have made some progress, although there is still a long way to go on this issue, and we see every day, with the same shame and impotence, that the problem is still present. The Brexit crisis, which materialised on 31 December 2020, showed us how the impossible was possible, and how the ineptitude of a few put at risk a union project whose circle of stars on a blue background seemed unbreakable. Never was the premise "unity is strength" more powerful, especially in the face of what was coming our way. The crisis of populism and extremism rising from ashes we thought the wind had blown away, but whose remnants are still present in some unconscious minds, taking advantage of crises, and the weakness they cause in people, as an opportunity to awaken ghosts we thought had disappeared, making us tremble with disbelief at spectacles, speeches and proposals that could only be described as shameful, were it not for the recklessness they exude, putting at risk our values and the European model that we have worked so hard to build to escape from barbarism. Populism and extremism have no place in a Europe that stands for peace, democracy, human rights, solidarity, unity, equality, diversity, integration and progress... the Europe that many of us dream of, believe in and fight for.

I want to believe that this year of waiting has not been in vain and has been worthwhile, as it has allowed us to reflect, and the crisis caused by COVID-19 in which we currently find ourselves, the biggest global crisis in decades, has helped us to reflect and give meaning to a Conference that comes at a crucial moment, not in our European history, but in our history as Humanity. Not in vain is it said that the European Union is moving forward at a time of crisis. I sincerely believe that we are facing a change of era, and we have the privilege of being witnesses, but also the possibility and the obligation, as citizens, to be key players in choosing the path we want to follow. 

Europe will be what citizens want it to be, and now is the time to put it into practice. We are currently engaged in this transition period between what we were and what we will be, with the advantage that we are aware of it and we have the tools to make change for the better possible. Some of the initiatives launched by the current European Commission have been welcomed by the public: by governments, regions, municipalities, political parties, civil society, academia, industry and business, and citizens, as they respond to challenges that seek to correct our past mistakes. The Green Pact, with the aim of making the European Union a project of sustainability, which cares for the environment and manages to reverse the great environmental impact and footprint that we are leaving for our future generations, and very much in line with another of the flagship initiatives of this century, the 2030 Agenda and its well-known Sustainable Development Goals, which we are gradually beginning to embrace - we feel obliged to - aiming for a better world, and where no one is left behind. The new European Digital Strategy, which comes at a key moment, and to which the COVID-19 pandemic has given special meaning, and a great boost, as according to experts we have advanced more than a decade in the use of hitherto underused digital tools. Many of us have turned digital into a lifeline to hold on to in the face of the unstoppable fall we were suffering. A rope that I am sure will end up being an extension of our body, just as the screens and keyboards that daily join us in an infinite number of tasks are for many of us. I would also like to highlight the launch, just a few days ago, on January 18, of the first phase of the New European Bauhaus, an initiative also launched by President Von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address. It aims for culture and creativity to generate the momentum we need towards the goals sought by the Green Pact, where design, accessibility, efficiency, affordability, sustainability and investment are the pillars to develop a future where our values follow principles of sustainability, aesthetics and inclusiveness. Culture has finally found its place in Europe, although it has always been present and only needed to be seen through the right prism.

Citizens must lead the way for Europe, for as Jean Monnet said, "we are not forming coalitions of states, we are uniting men”. During the pandemic crisis, citizens have shown which Europe they want and which direction to work in, if the European Union is to have a future. Their eyes, and their demands, turn to Europe whenever there is a problem, because they understand that, as Ortega y Gasset said, "Europe is the solution". But Europe was born with its hands tied, and we have in the Conference on the Future of Europe an opportunity to release it and unleash its full potential. Citizens demand greater competences from Europe, and Member States must listen to their citizens and hand over competences to Europe, especially in those areas where it has been shown that we are much more efficient and get better results when we work together (i.e. competences in Public Health, as seen in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Conference on the Future of Europe must provide an opportunity to create greater integration and even contribute to the development of a common European identity, latent in our consciences but locked up in our stereotypes. I mean that we must give wings to those who were not born to live within walls, walls or borders, and give the EU greater powers in the field of culture. Never fear those who believe that this would be the end of the European cultural diversity and that we would tend towards a homogenous culture, for it is not for nothing that the European Union has as its motto 'United in Diversity', and the cultural diversity in every corner of Europe will be protected and guaranteed. As Jacques Delors called for, it is a question of "giving a soul to Europe", which can best be achieved through culture. The New European Bauhaus initiative is a good first step, but it is not enough, although it shows how important culture and creativity can be in our common life, and therefore how important it is that the EU can legislate and decide on this matter. 

If we talk about Soul, we also talk about Humanity, and we talk about life and values that we promulgate, but cannot defend as Europeans, as we lack the competences to do so, as the immigration and/or refugee crisis we have been experiencing for years has shown. This is another area where the European Union must move forward and be strengthened. Europe also needs more competences in the area of immigration.  

In short, we must take advantage of this Conference to promote a new model and fulfil the European dream, which was initiated by the founding fathers (and mothers) of the Europe we know today. The Conference should also serve as a prelude to a new European Convention that will either allow us to substantially amend the Treaties to accommodate the proposals made in the preceding paragraphs or, rather, lead us towards a European Constitution that fully reinforces our integration project. The decision must be firm, for in today's global world it is clear that only united can we survive, and the European Union is the best way to make this possible. In this process, organised civil society has a crucial role to play.

Miguel Ángel Martín Ramos, responsible for European Affairs and delegate in Brussels of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation and member of the Scientific Council of Citizens pro Europe.