Europe's return. A usual, it is from a European point of view that I allow myself to add a little page to the thousands that have been devoted to the outcome of the French presidential elections. And I say without beating about the bush: what happened in France has positive aspects. During the electoral campaign that preceded the first round of these elections, the topic of Europe was forgotten. It appeared formally in the programmes of both Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin, but without conviction, included because something had to be said, and I can only repeat what I said in this section of 26 April: one does not acquire European credibility with an isolated speech not backed by constant action and on strong convictions. Before the second round, the anti-European delirium of Jean-Marie Le Pen provoked a salutary reaction. Politicians firmly stated that for France there was no future outside Europe; commentators demonstrated, backed by arguments, to what extent Le Pen's programme was ruinous and absurd. In a television address as chair of the Convention on the future of Europe, Valery Giscard d'Estaing was able to find the right words and the appropriate nobility of tone to provide a simple, clear and convincing "lesson on Europe"
A language we were no longer used to. With political stances, commentators, economists, historians and the intervention of Giscard d'Estaing, the French were able to hear Europe spoken of in a language they were no longer used to (nor, moreover, the citizens of other Member States), and understand what European construction provided us with. To go back would be a nightmare. Again borders and controls, prohibition to reside in other countries, impossibility of exercising one's profession everywhere or freely purchasing real estate in any country of the Union, social security cover limited to the national territory…And leaving the euro? Experts quantified the immediate devaluation of the re-established French franc at 20% or 30%., with automatic repercussions on the cost of living, the requirement to change currency (with a devalued FF!) each time a border was crossed…It is true that Le Pen himself partially back-stepped on this issue, speaking of a fixed FF/euro exchange rate: but this would have meant for France the obligation of conducting the EU's monetary policy without taking part in decisions (which would have been a real loss of sovereignty). And the collapse of the CAP? France would have been obliged to sell its exportable agricultural production at world rates, and its farmers would have lost Community subsidies. Without mentioning the loss of international credibility: isolation in trade disputes with the United States, loss of weight vis-à-vis Russia, Mercosur, more difficult links with the ACP…I'm almost embarrassed in setting out these banalities to qualified readers who know more than I do; what I mean to say, is that these very simple observations are foreign to citizens to whom Europe is often presented as a bureaucracy simply there to invent standards to complicate the life of others.
Mario Monti's hope. Remains to be hoped that in view of the legislative elections, French political forces will be able to provide European issues with the importance they deserve and will be recognised as such by its citizens if presented with clarity, honesty and conviction. This observation exceeds the French case: it is valid for the whole of Europe. Here I shall quote the words of Commissioner Mario Monti (1), as, to my knowledge, they are the most eloquent and convincing demonstration of the need for Europe, and because the author is at times considered, as responsible for competition, as little inclined to take into consideration non-economic elements of European policy. He declared that the consensus of the extreme-right stemmed from "the anxiety citizens feel faced with problems that manifest themselves at national level but can only be resolved at European level: illegal immigration, crime, unemployment, social exclusion, unbalanced distribution of wealth". He then added: "we observe a growing unease for what appears to be too rapid market liberalisation. But the solution is not to slow down liberalisation or structural reforms (already fairly slow), but provide greater weight and content to social Europe (….). The stability Pact must be respected, but with greater attention given to economic logic and encouraging public investment, which Maastricht allows (…) I hope that the political class will be more aware of the need to have citizens understand what Europe really is, and to what extent it can resolve certain national problems at European level."
I hope so too. (F.R.)
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(1) Declarations to the "Corriere della Sera" of 6 May, gathered by Andrea Bonanni.