Citizens' Europe must happen now!
(B2) With the result of the Irish referendum, after those of France and the Netherlands, we have to face the facts. The growing feeling of citizens, who distrust Europe and are ready to believe in all possible chimeras, forces rapid internal reflection on the meaning of Europe and Community policies. All the more so since, as the Lamassoure report demonstrates, the work is immense.
No institutional change necessary...
For that, there is no need for a new Treaty. We can even say that, apart from services of general interest (and again), on social issues or the free movement of people, the Treaty of Lisbon does not bring anything fundamentally new that cannot already be achieved with the Treaty of Nice, with a bit of goodwill. The free movement of persons, the protection of workers, social security, the fight against social exclusion… have indeed remained one of the major unfinished projects of recent years. In the breath of the single market, this "freedom" was already a poor relation. The arrival of the Euro – which tightened monetary and budgetary policies –, the great enlargement towards the East – which, in fact, raised questions which had only been partially resolved during the Mediterranean enlargements – should have be wonderful opportunities to rethink certain issues. It has not happened…
The Europe of projects has remained a slogan...
The Barroso Commission's “Europe of results” or “Europe of projects” has above all remained a slogan. Admittedly, a number of “good for citizens” projects have emerged: “Roaming”, “road safety” and “Aviation blacklists”. But it is more of a “paint-up” on existing projects, already engaged in the institutional machine, and justified for other reasons, economic in particular, without any real overview. Moreover, they only touch on the margins of the major concerns of many citizens: employment, health, purchasing power, retirement. Whether it's the closing of factories, the restructuring of whole sections of the economy, the expensive Euro, the rise in the prices of basic products (food, diesel, etc.), Europe has dodged, the latter months, the fundamental questions, with pseudo-legal quibbles. She often passed the ball elsewhere: "It is up to the States to act" "First of all, we must carry out structural reforms", "It's globalization" were often the answers... Thus giving citizens the impression of a Europe incapable of taking account of some of their problems. A Europe that moved forward with a determined, inflexible step, without taking into account the collateral effects. In short, a Europe incapable of doing politics...
A few ways to start
Certain questions undermine the economic and social fabric: the restructuring of certain sectors hit hard by the evolution of the price of oil (road transport, fishermen, etc.) should be the subject of restructuring plans designed at European level. The problems are almost identical and the policies partly driven by “Brussels”. Similarly, the gray areas between "employees" and "self-employed", work rhythms, etc. should be the subject of increased attention. Finally, all the problems encountered by citizens who go to work, study or live in another European country should be quickly resolved. On this subject, the report to be presented by MEP Alain Lamassoure to the French presidency will be fundamental. Either it is a question of a bad application, and the Commission must pull out its stick against the recalcitrant States. Either there are legal loopholes, and it must propose solutions to remedy these loopholes. Either it is bad information, and other innovative solutions must be invented.
In any case, action must take precedence over rhetoric and wait-and-see.
