Project and self-criticism. In practice, the European Socialists have opened their election campaign on the renewal of the European Parliament. This, for me, is the significance of the conference-debate at which Hannes Swoboda and Harlem Désir (who is the promoter of it) presented the manifesto “For a European Socialist alternative”, with the involvement of Jacques Delors (see our previous bulletin).
This document had already been signed by a number of figures from the Socialist world, and others are putting their signatures to it as well. It goes beyond a simple call to vote Socialist. It defines a series of objectives and orientations which take account of the differences which exist between the national Socialist parties, and it also contains a dose of self-criticism which is quite rare in the political world. I quote: “Europe's Socialists are being left behind, many incapable of articulating public anger with high finance, unwilling to work with fellow Socialists in government in other EU member states, often supine in international forums on trade and climate change, with some notable exceptions. Democratic Socialists, Social Democrats and Labour parties in many countries have seen their support plummet to an all-time low. To make matters worse, the discontent generated by the policies of today of the EU and its government has been exploited politically, not by the Left, but by xenophobic populists, nationalists and the far right.” The economies of Europe (and elsewhere) have been “knocked off course by the near-criminal irresponsibility of the global financial sector”.
Easy and ineffective demagoguery is thrown out. The document does not recommend an increase in public expenditure for its own sake: “there is nothing Socialist about wasteful public spending (…). We have a duty to ensure that its use is efficient.” Some of these ideas already feature in the massive body of Community projects (for example, the financial transaction tax and eurobonds issued by the EU), others are controversial (taxing imports from countries which do not respect environmental standards). The institutional plank is also covered.
Jacques Delors: from the “European Socialist Party” project to the word “federalism”. Going beyond what we stated in our previous bulletin, I would like to stress a few specific aspects of Jacques Delors' speech, starting with his opening confession: “demagoguery is not my style”.
He raised the issue of the “European Socialist Party” project, observing that the Socialists of various member states all agree when they are in opposition; when they are in government, not so much. A joint party would allow there to be a joint programme; after all, challenging what the Right is doing is all well and good, but having a joint Socialist programme would be even better.
He takes the view that the leap Europe made when it created the euro was “more radical than the creation of the single market”. Now, a “crucial final effort is needed”, at European level, but also nationally, because “each country has to play its part”. The EU as a whole must accept the differences between the member states, which will never be identical. Meeting is good, but not enough; and Mr Delors was somewhat caustic about dialogue between the finance ministers, which often consists of “badmouthing each other”.
We won't resolve the problems by sidestepping them: previously, when he observed that the Stability Pact covered only the economy plank, the member states simply inflated the title: in this way, it became the Stability and Growth Pact, as if adding a word would change its substance.
Social dialogue is vital alongside economic dialogue, at European level and nationally.
The ECB must not solely monitor price stability; it is inevitable that its actions influence the economic reality and therefore, one way or another, it must concern itself with this.
Jacques Delors added that the developments he recommends necessarily correspond to a form of “federalism”, not hesitating to say out loud the taboo word others stumble over.
Defensive differentiation. Mr Delors then expressed himself explicitly and firmly on another “taboo aspect” of European politics: differentiation between the member states. He said that the eurozone should have been brought to life as “enhanced cooperation”, as soon as certain member states couldn't - or wouldn't - join. The possibility of differentiation “is a strength, not a weakness”: the Schengen zone would never have existed if we had waited for unanimity to bring it about! The member states are not giving up their identity, but “delegations of sovereignty” are needed.
"Budget Pact": there's nothing simple. Mr Delors did not carry out a theoretical legal analysis of this text, preferring instead to assess it in terms of its practical application: how does it work? From this point of view, what he observed left him a bit confused: “there's nothing simple in that”. This pact, the complicated result of arduous negotiations which had to bring together differing opinions, will not be easy to manage. Jacques Delors did not say that it needed to be renegotiated. His response was much more nuanced, and we understand what he was saying.
My personal opinion is that the renegotiation would be practically impossible, because the Treaty in question will enter into force automatically after its 12th ratification by a member state of the eurozone, even without France; when that time comes, how can it be renegotiated if it is already in force? The only possible solution lies in a reinforcement of the global parallelism between monetary discipline and the relaunch of economic activity generally, without changing the text of this Treaty; this subject has incidentally been central to the activity of all of the Community institutions since last year.
Institutional changes? There are a great many projects in this field, some of them interesting, but Jacques Delors warned against the risk of a bit of slippage in the intergovernmental method. In the history of Europe, simple cooperation between states has always led to wars, in some cases between countries which are, theoretically, allies. The Community method needs to be safeguarded and the Commission must keep its right of initiative and play its part. The Socialist document indicates a few new initiatives (faculty for the EP to sack a commissioner, president of the Commission to be appointed on the basis of the results of the European elections, etc), but Jacques Delors did not go into detail. (FR/transl.fl)