Lina Papadopoulou – in her monthly contribution to the Greek newspaper TO VIMA, 11th May 2025, machine translated from Greek. Link to original
Every year on May 9, we celebrate Europe Day. It is the date of the Schuman Declaration (1950), which marked the beginning of European integration. Its goal was peace and prosperity on the continent. Its tools have been economic and political integration, based on the values of solidarity, freedom, democracy, and cooperation between nation states, with a parallel restriction on the exercise of their state sovereignty.
The crucial thing, however, is for the entire century to become a century of a united, peaceful, and democratic Europe, without the latter lagging behind in world history, merely reminiscing about the glories of the past. Or, even worse, that it should have to go through the fire of yet another war in order to regain the momentum of its vision of unification, which it has lost in the meantime, as it suffers multiple blows from the East (Russia) and, now, the West (the US), as well as from within, from the forces of the nationalist far right. Although it may seem paradoxical at first glance for a Union created to preserve peace to talk about defense, it is unfortunately inevitable. But external security cannot come at the expense of social policy, because this would further reinforce the centrifugal tendencies within the Union. Boosting employment and providing social support and retraining for the unemployed, with a European system of mutual insurance for unemployment benefits, are crucial components, while Union intervention is also needed to safeguard public goods and housing.
The first and most important step, of course, is for the EU to increase its budget by finding new permanent sources of funding for its own resources in order to strengthen its competitiveness and defense, but also its social face. This must necessarily be combined with strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy, based on Draghi’s proposals in his report towards an investment program.
The democratic legitimacy of this economic policy, on the other hand, must be ensured not only on the basis of the decisions of the Member States but also of the European Parliament, which, as the direct representative of the peoples and citizens of the Union, should not be excluded from fiscal decision-making, while at the same time its members must be more active in communicating the EU to its citizens. In line with the action already taken, the EU must, of course, link the strengthening of national economies to the observance and respect of its fundamental values, as they have been shaped and enshrined in the treaties to date, and the relevant rules must be applied consistently and systematically.
Furthermore, given the rapid developments, particularly in view of the idiosyncratic policies of the Trump administration, flexibility and unity are required in terms of the Union’s fiscal capacity and action. For this reason, the seven-year multiannual financial framework (MFF) should be revised to coincide with the term of the European Parliament and the Commission, on the one hand, and to distinguish between categories that actually require long-term planning and those that require immediate action, on the other.
All this, of course, in a Europe that is aging at a very rapid pace. Any national policies to tackle low birth rates can only delay but not reverse this trend. That is why policies for the integration of immigrants must be placed high on the EU agenda, with the aim of harnessing this human potential in the European economy and passing on European values. Because if anything is unique and worthy of protection and celebration, it is these values of peace, equal freedom, and solidarity, which must be safeguarded as a universal good and an achievement.
