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EPB 50 Between Rome and Sibiu No. 50 No. 2 May 2018 June 2011 Between Rome and Sibiu: A Trajectory for the New European Narrative Dr Jan Hoogmartens Many EU citizens have been living under the Many observers may easily reach the impression that the European Union has been in conclusion that the European Union (EU) crisis over the last decade. The outcome of the has been in crisis for the last decade. Brexit referendum in June 2016 triggered a Against this background, and especially debate on the future of Europe with 27 since the outcome of the Brexit referendum, remaining Member States. This debate presents the EU has begun much soul searching to the Union with new opportunities to further carve out a new path to its future. This complete its ongoing political project and to Policy Brief addresses the current Future of achieve its goals as codified in the Treaties. Europe debate with the Bratislava Roadmap, the Rome Declaration, the Without a convincing narrative, the European Leaders’ Agenda, and other valuable project is threatened by extinction. It runs the contributions. It raises the question what risk of being misrepresented by populists and kind of narrative the European project will may no longer be embraced by its citizens. As need to survive into the future. What kind of this Policy Brief will explain, this narrative Europeans do we wish to be and what sort should not only focus on practical cooperation of Europe do we want to create? Despite in areas where there is a will to work together growing mistrust of citizens in their own and where this work can deliver tangible results, institutions and rising populism, this Policy but also on the values that underpin the Brief pleads for enduring support for the institutions on their trajectory to find new values on which the European project is solutions to concrete concerns of EU citizens. built.INTRODUCTION These values should remain beacons for the way in which we legitimise, organise Many EU citizens have been living under the EUROPE IN POLY-CRISIS and communicate the work of the EU. Even impression that the European Union has been in The EU’s recent worries all started with a if we cannot always agree on a common crisis over the last decade. The outcome of the banking crisis that in some Member States destination, Europeans should be able to Brexit referendum in June 2016 triggered a developed into a full-fledged sovereign debt agree at least on a shared trajectory based debate on the Future of Europe with 27 crisis, and which brought down the economy to on common values. This is a narrative that remaining Member States. This debate presents its worst level of recession since the creation of should inspire Europe again. the Union with new opportunities to further the bloc. It raised serious doubts about the EGMONT Royal Institute for International Relations survival of its currency, the euro, and put A fifth and final crisis can be found in how question marks over the EU’s prosperity. some European governments, perhaps also in response to the aforementioned crises, are In addition, the bloc has witnessed influxes of showing their resolve by undermining the Rule both regular and irregular migrants, escaping of Law in their democracies. They seem to from political and economic turmoil due to crop deliberately overstep norms and values so as not failures, conflicts, persecution and violence, to be perceived as weak and to cater to populist which find their cause in revolutions elsewhere, demands for strong and firm answers. Yet this is such as in Libya and Syria. The reception and particularly challenging for the EU as an integration of these new entrants provoke tense international organisation where sovereignty is political discussions in the EU and its Member shared on the basis of the rule of law. The States, creating unease in traditional political questioning of these norms and values thus parties pressurized by an anti-immigration holds great danger for the entire European discourse. construction. More to the East, Russia caused a stir by FROM CRISIS TO OPPORTUNITY annexing the Crimea and freezing conflicts With that many crises it is hard to imagine that related to the EU’s growing influence in Ukraine no disruption would come from them. But with and other members of the Eastern Partnership. each funeral a mourning process starts and the In response to this and in a spirit of solidarity question the Union rightly asked, was how to the EU adopted economic sanctions, but the overcome its loss and how to manage it. The panic about Russia’s behaviour is still palpable. EU suffered serious injury, yet it suffices in This has become obvious from the way in which those circumstances to show more resilience to the EU takes steps to beef up its own security turn things around. environment and to reorganize its gas supply.1 Brexit was probably the trigger the EU needed In June 2016, the UK’s 40 years old love-hate to pick up the pieces. This does not mean that relationship with the process of further all will end well. The odds of a cliff edge European integration took a dramatic turn. A scenario are still very high. There is still too narrow majority of UK citizens voted in a much uncertainty about the kind of future referendum to leave the EU, and in doing so, relationship that London aspires to achieve and ousted David Cameron as Prime Minister. At whether its aspiration will be reconcilable with their meeting of 28 June 2016, the European the EU’s own political and legal order. For the leaders discussed the outcome of the time being, the group of remaining 27 Member referendum and a new crisis mood got hold of States is remarkably holding together. This show Brussels. The new UK government led by of firm unity became apparent at the 60th Theresa May notified the European Council of anniversary of the Rome Treaty with the the UK’s intention to withdraw from the EU in message that the EU had to take its destiny in its March 2017, paving the way for Brexit own hands.2 With the ensuing adoption of its negotiations. Whilst these negotiations have Leaders’ Agenda, the European Council exactly helped until now the consensus-building on the did that.3 EU’s own stance, much insecurity remains about the long-term implications for both parties. Also the election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the USA served as a catalyst. Since EGMONT Royal Institute for International Relations 2 the 1950s Europe has tried to build its own must be implemented by Member States, not by defence community, but so far never succeeded. agencies. The absence of an unwavering commitment by the US to Europe’s security at the NATO We must therefore be very careful not to summit in Brussels of June 2017, has led to misrepresent the EU as a (federal) state, because PESCO and EDIDP.4 Trump’s economic it creates an enormous capabilities-expectations nationalism even accelerated the political deal gap. Whilst for some politicians the gap is an making between Japan and the EU on a wide- important argument to plead for a federal ranging economic partnership agreement European state, other political groups will be announced in July 2017 and concluded the same quick to use the misrepresentation to pinpoint year in December.5 The same argument counted the inefficiency of the EU institutions. By way for the speedy conclusion of a new EU-Mexico of example, both groups will probably argue that trade deal.6 These are just the most visible the so-called European Border and Coast Guard examples that Europe is willing and ready to (FRONTEX) is highly inefficient. Whereas the turn the page. former will probably explain that Europe’s borders cannot be protected by 1.500 people ONE ENGINE WITH MULTIPLE GEARS alone, the latter will carefully omit that it is currently the Member States, and not After having licked their wounds, the remaining FRONTEX, that are competent and thus 27 members quickly developed a more positive responsible for border protection.9 It is always agenda about the future.7 The questions this important to carefully examine the instruments future raises are what the 27 still would like to do in the EU’s toolbox before blaming it unfairly of together, how they could accomplish their running itself in an inefficient way. common objectives, and with whom they still could further integrate. Since several decades the If the EU should not be presented as a federal European integration process has been state or empire, what is it then? It is an developed at different speeds and with variable international organisation of Member States partners. The most obvious example is the codified by several treaties. The Member States Eurozone which currently counts 19 out of 28 of this organisation voluntarily sacrificed part of Member States. The principle of a multispeed their sovereignty by conferring competences Europe was also inscribed in the Rome into a Union and its institutions in order to Declaration where it says: “act together, at pursue common objectives. In order to achieve different paces and intensity where necessary, these objectives, the Union created a new while moving in the same direction”.8 supranational legal order legitimised by both national and European democratic processes. Whether we like it or not, the concept of The whole construction is based on the rule of multispeed integration has evolved into a law, of which the European philosophical and cornerstone of the European construction, and political origins go back centuries.
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