In the debate on Wednesday 15 March on the conclusions of the spring European Council and on the preparation of the Declaration of Rome that the 27 member states will adopt in Rome on Saturday 25 March to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding treaties of the EEC and the EAEC (see EUROPE 11743), the main pro-European groups in the European Parliament said that they stood ready to support a relaunched 27-member European Union.
The political groups do not necessarily share the same view, however, on where the EU should focus its energies in future, bringing differences between the left and the right once again to the fore.
“The areas that interest us are defence and foreign policy”, said EPP Group leader Manfred Weber (Germany). For the Liberals, Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium) argued that Europe should focus its efforts on issues where European action brings real added value, and he highlighted border protection by the European Border and Coast Guard, the creation of a euro area Treasury and a European intelligence capacity to better combat terrorism.
On the left of the political spectrum, creating a more social Europe holds greater sway. For Gianni Pittella (S&D, Italy), the main issue is not multi-speed integration but “direction”. If there is no mention of social Europe or of an overhaul of Eurozone governance, do not sign the Declaration of Rome, he urged Italy’s Social Democrat prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, who was in the chamber to hear the debate. He highlighted further priorities: energy transition, protecting the EU’s external borders and clamping down on tax evasion.
Expressing doubt that the Declaration of Rome will herald a genuine renewal, Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL, Germany) underlined the need for a strong signal to be sent from Rome for a “more social Europe”. In the United Kingdom, low-paid workers with little job security voted for Brexit because they believe that Europe is doing nothing to help them, she railed. The leader of the Greens/EFA, Philippe Lamberts (Belgium) urged a “change of direction” and criticised “fortress Europe” that is doing everything possible to keep out migrants fleeing poverty or war.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was the only head of a European institution to highlight the importance of social Europe. As part of the debate on the future of the EU launched by its recent White Paper (see EUROPE 11736), the Commission will present a document dealing specifically with social Europe. A summit in Gothenburg in mid-November will also discuss social Europe.
From among the Eurosceptics and Europhobes, Raffaele Fitto (ECR, Italy) said the ship is sinking and the focus is on the speed of the sinking instead of the wave of rejection that is overwhelming it. Rosa D’Amato (EFDD, Italy) criticised the EU’s lack of democratic legitimacy and was scathing of the lack of solidarity among member states in taking in refugees. Matteo Salvini (ENF, Italy) said that Europe as it stands is a disgrace: it criticises Turkey but gives it billions of euro to manage migration flows and in the central Mediterranean, deaths and arrivals in Italy are hitting record highs.
Unity among the 27 before differentiated integration. European Council President Donald Tusk, whose re-appointment was hailed several times on Wednesday (see EUROPE 11742), acknowledged that a multi-speed Europe would be one of the issues addressed in Rome at the end of March. “Some expect systemic changes that would loosen intra-EU ties and strengthen the role of nations in relation to the community. Others, quite the opposite, are looking for new, deeper dimensions of integration, even if they would apply only to some member states”, he said. Nonetheless, in his view, the conclusion of the European Council debate on the Declaration of Rome remains that “the unity of the 27 would be our most precious asset”. He added: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.
Juncker said that the goal of increased use of enhanced cooperation within the EU is not to put up a “new iron curtain” but rather to acknowledge that not all want, or are able, to advance in the same way in the EU.
In similar vein, Gentiloni said he hoped the celebrations in Rome would, in these uncertain times, send out a message of confidence, not one of a first and second class Europe, of big or small states of east or west. The Declaration of Rome will, “as always, be the result of compromise among differing views”, he said. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)