From cafés to Chinese-owned bars

Europe today is questioned by its citizens, despite it objectively being a redoubt of civilisation and welfare for the planet which attracts refugees fleeing poverty, violence and tyranny.

Esther Vera
3 min
Dels cafès al bar de xinesos

“Peace, freedom, tolerance, solidarity, rule of law. 60 years, same values. Look back with pride, look forward with hope”, this was the European Commission’s tweet to celebrate six decades since it was founded. The tweet is a good summary of the European Union’s problems. On the one hand, European citizens have grown used to having values guaranteed that previous generations consolidated with blood, sweat and tears: peace, freedom, tolerance and rule of law. On the other hand, many Europeans are no longer proud of Europe, nor do they trust that its leaders are capable of driving towards a better future.

Europe today is questioned by its citizens, despite it objectively being a redoubt of civilisation and welfare for the planet which attracts refugees fleeing poverty, violence and tyranny.

The proposals

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, opened the debate about Europe’s usefulness in a recent white paper analysed by the twenty-seven member states in Rome. The paper outlines five possible scenarios and recognises the loss of international relevance and the loss of affection from citizens. It has been years since globalisation and business ousted Europe as the single centre of the world, and it has been years that the loss of popular affection for Europe has been expressed in many member countries. The most serious immediate result of not recognising this earlier will be the United Kingdom leaving the EU and the main threat is the power of the anti-European Front National in France. While it will be difficult for them to get to the Élysée Palace, they’re inoculating the virus of isolation which could see the end of the fundamental axis, the relationship between Paris and Berlin.

The loss of public support has a lot to do with the project’s lack of usefulness and its lack of self-criticism. The recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression has left its mark on the economy and on confidence in the future. In fact, neither per capita income nor employment rates have reached their pre-crash levels in the Union, and the recovery strategy imposed by Germany meant great sacrifices in the south. Dramatic sacrifices by the Greeks, Portuguese and Spanish, who are still being accused of spending financial aid on drugs and women without the president of Eurogroup, Dijsselbloem, being obliged to resign on the spot.

Wealthy and ageing

One of the main changes in Europe is the decline and aging of the population. By 2060, none of the member states will represent even 1.1% of the world’s population, another argument to reconsider the project and strengthen it. The possibilities are varied, but have to be practicable and realistic with the messages sent by popular disaffection.

The possible scenarios can be narrowed down to five: stay the same, focus on the single market, go at different speeds but consolidate a strong core, do less but more efficiently and all go forwards. The most plausible-seeming option is that Europe extends into a greater number of spheres, each country at its own speed. The Eurozone would be followed by other privileged relationships within the EU.

This scenario seems feasible at a time when federal advance is impossible, as the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, admitted this week to the Financial Times. “The second option is worse than the optimal one, but better than nothing”. The proposal taking form for the twenty-seven countries would be to continue working as before while allowing member states to expand their collaboration in areas like defence, internal security and social issues, if they wish to. An example, according to the Commission, would be fifteen member states, in 2025, setting up a body of police officers and prosecutors to fight against cross-border criminal activities. They would immediately share information on security matters through fully connected databases.

The Union will not move forward, for all the photographs it takes and summits it holds, without developing a social projects that Europeans recognise in turbulent times. It has to deepen the economic and monetary union, the defence and financial union but, even more so, the union in terms of consumption and defence of a European culture and lifestyle.

George Steiner, in his essay The Idea of Europe, highlighted the spirit of a Europe “made up of cafés”, a centre of eloquence and debates, of socialisation and exchange of ideas. In Spain, 60 years later, there are ever fewer cafés and ever more bars owned by the Chinese community or other non-European nationalities. The founding values are those of tolerance, cooperation and democracy. But they need to be brought up to date and we need to have leaders capable of having as brave an “idea of Europe” as the founding fathers.

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