‘Security, prosperity and European values’ are the three main promises that the European Union must ensure it can keep over the coming years, according to Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel. On Tuesday 12 February, he spoke on the future of Europe on the occasion of the official inauguration of the Paul-Henri Spaak building at the College of Europe.
Developing on the promise of security first, Mr Michel called for “increased automation in security and intelligence cooperation” between Member States, in order to best fight terrorism.
He also supported the idea of creating a European defence, linking this project to the need for greater collaboration in external relations to develop a common geopolitical strategy.
In terms of migration, the Prime Minister notably called for the opening of legal migration channels by establishing a dialogue with Africa, in addition to combating illegal migration channels.
Then, with regard to the promise of prosperity, Mr Michel is of the opinion that “subjects are not currently dealt with adequately and not handled bravely enough at European level”.
He therefore hopes that the EU will be able to make progress on the issue of tax harmonisation and the strengthening of the Economic and Monetary Union.
He also called for the development of a “European Green Deal” to take specific measures to address the climate challenge.
He believes that such a project should be developed at EU level rather than at national level, because otherwise competition and a form of intra-European environmental dumping could emerge.
On a social level, Charles Michel wishes to once again table the idea of harmonising the European minimum wage. "Today, there is a gap of more than 1 to 10 in terms of the gross minimum wage between European countries where such a wage exists. It is clear that if we want to stimulate convergence, we must equally do so (...) through a number of principles related to the labour market”, he stressed.
Thirdly, regarding defence of European values, Mr Michel recalled his wish, presented before the European Parliament in May 2018 (see EUROPE 12014), to develop, at a European level, a peer review of the progress made in terms of respect for European values in all Member States.
Finally, addressing the issue of Brexit, the Prime Minister was rather pessimistic about the lack of significant progress made in recent days. He preferred a no-deal to a bad deal because, in his view, the question of the Irish border is far from being a detail and instead requires an answer that will preserve peace in Ireland and the integrity of the internal market. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)