Brussels, 03/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - European integration is one of the biggest political success stories of the 20th century, but does it risk becoming the biggest failure of the 21st? Europe's citizens are increasingly disillusioned because they do not really see what Europe does for them. The dynamism of the original European project lay in its ability to create solidarity - for instance, among farmers with the Common Agricultural Policy, or through the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This was what gave it its energy and its legitimacy.
Now the European Union seems to be a source of petty rivalries and divisions. The crisis has undermined the principle of solidarity between European countries and, with increasing inequality, between peoples. With laws such as the Services Directive, the European Union is also legalising social dumping. Businesses, though usually the strongest supporters of the European idea, are confused by this set of rules which are not just convoluted but also felt to hamper business development without providing new opportunities.
In abandoning its fundamental values, Europe has gradually turned its back on its social model, its identity, and a whole series of values which meant something to people. Perceived by its citizens as a vehicle of unchecked globalisation, the Union has thus fostered the euroscepticism which no member state has been spared.
There is a real prospect that the upcoming European elections will be marked by a record low turnout and a chamber in which a large number of members oppose European integration. But Europeans also have real cause for discontent.
Yes, Europe has achieved a great deal, but it has lost its way. And to win back people's confidence, Europe must convince them that it is not part of the problem but part of the solution.
Solidarity is created, not imposed. The European Union must now demonstrate that it can still project a collective vision.
It must begin by listening to its citizens. In Greece, Poland, Bulgaria - all the places that I have visited over the past few months - I have heard the same plea. Company bosses, young graduates, bloggers, members of NGOs - all of them have told me that they want to feel understood, involved and supported. Europe's history brims with examples of social progress initiated after consultation with civil society, like the 1948 Hague Congress which was the basis for the European founding treaties that followed, including the European Charter of Human Rights.
To be convincing, Europe must come up with specific responses to the everyday problems people face and must refocus attention on its citizens. We should remember that free movement of capital is not an end in itself: its purpose is to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses, to support the launch of new projects, stimulate growth and create jobs. Europe is not short of ideas. For instance, my Committee supports the proposal for an EU-wide minimum wage in a Europe where Bulgarian check-out assistants sometimes earn less than their counterparts in China. We are proposing that the European Youth Guarantee - a commitment to providing every young person with a job, apprenticeship or training - should be made really effective by extending it to young people up to the age of 30 (the age limit is currently 25) and to regions where youth unemployment is lower than 25% so as to address the problem in its early stages. By the same token, why should implementation of the Guarantee be entrusted to national governments which do not understand situations on the ground, rather than to the social partners, chambers of commerce or associations? All of these proposals are specific and feasible - billions of euro from the Structural Funds are currently unused - as responses to major issues affecting ordinary people. Unemployment affects up to 60% of young people in countries such as Greece.
For a robust and cohesive Europe. In the longer term we must build a Europe that is robust and that is able to protect its peoples from global crises. A long-term perspective must return to the financial markets, putting an end to financial excesses. We must relaunch Made in Europe - following the example of Gerhard Schröder's Made in Germany campaign to attract investment and jobs to Germany - and find the means to produce real European winners on world markets. In international trade, the European Union must return to the basic principles of the World Trade Organisation, which was founded on the concept of reciprocal trade agreements, while also asking countries that wish to sell their products and services in the Union to respect social and environmental standards.
Europe must have solidarity. Without social cohesion and without joint projects, Europe cannot be attractive to its citizens. Real common policies will make entrepreneurs, employees and young people into Europeans with a common purpose. Europe must return to the Community spirit of its origins.
Jean Monnet once said that when something has to be done we should not ask whether it is possible, but rather make it possible. The European Economic and Social Committee, and I personally, believe that Europe is necessary. And we will do everything to make it possible. Now. Henri Malosse is President of the European Economic and Social Committee