"For generations, Europe has always been synonymous with the future". So reads the first sentence of the European Commission's White Paper presented on 1 March.
That is the way it is, and it has certainly been the way it has been in the past. We need only recall that what was once the endeavour of six countries is now the endeavour of 27; what was once the endeavour of 180 million people is now 500 million people whose average income was 15,000 euros and today is more than 52,000 euros. In 1957, the embers of the war tragedies that had bloodied our continent were still smouldering; today we have sixty years of peace in Europe, for the first time in our history. Today, the European Union, with 6% of the world's population, is the world's leading trading power, produces 24% of the world's GDP, accounts for 50% of the world's social spending and 65% of development or humanitarian aid. And it is the largest area of democracy, rights and freedoms in the world.
In other words, to be honest with the truth, there is little doubt that the project that began sixty years ago in Rome has, by and large, been a success story. But it is not written in stone that Europe will remain that synonym for the future. On the contrary, there are great uncertainties that threaten its very existence.
Today, the EU is facing major challenges: firstly, social inequality, which has increased dramatically in these years of crisis and which is the reason why, for millions of citizens of the continent, especially in the countries of the South, European policy appears to be responsible for a situation of impoverishment of the middle and working classes, wage cuts and loss of social rights; secondly, the rise of nationalism and populism, movements that use the social wounds of the crisis and demagogically stir up the scarecrow of immigration to bring national identity back to the forefront, when, at this point, the problem is not, and cannot be, one of independence, but of interdependence; and thirdly, the inability of the Union's institutions to deal with critical situations, as has been the case with migratory waves of one kind or another or the economic crisis itself.
The truth is that all these major challenges, plus some others that are also decisive, such as the competitiveness of our economy, energy, or security and defence policies, can only be resolved positively and with progress within the framework of a strengthened and more integrated European Union, a strengthening that can be achieved by making substantial progress in order to achieve "...".a Union big on big issues and small on small issues".as stated in the Declaration signed last Saturday by European leaders. It may be that the way forward should be this multi-speed Europe, but the most important thing is not the speed but the objective pursued. It is no use going too fast if you are going in the wrong direction.
In the same declaration, the stability and prosperity of the countries in the Union's immediate neighbourhood are also at stake, words that particularly affect the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Restoring the Union's credibility requires a civilised, democratic and humanitarian end to the refugee tragedy, a similar order to migratory flows and the establishment, at long last, of a major concerted plan to promote economic development, social justice and democracy in these countries. Europe's security, stability and progress are not possible without our neighbours in the Mediterranean, which must cease to be a place of suffering and become a place of coexistence, development and peace. It is never too late to try with seriousness and determination, and the Union's own history teaches us that, on many occasions, progress has been made from situations of crisis and failed attempts.
The debate that has just opened in the Union cannot be bureaucratic and routine. Rather, and even more so in these times in which the so-called "Trump era" raises big questions about the future, what we need is a great collective effort to ensure that the values that made the Union great, those of peace, freedom, democracy and solidarity, become the driving force behind a renewed European Union that no longer opens the way to inequality and lack of solidarity, but takes its rightful place in the world. Only in this way will we move from frustration to hope.
José Manuel Cervera, Director of the Fundación Tres Culturas del Mediterráneo.