By Sylvie Goulard, Senior Adviser to Shearwater Global, and formerly deputy Governor of the Banque de France, MEP and French Armed Forces Minister.
Europe is drifting. The single market remains unfinished, euro governance is incomplete, and its foreign and security policy is a mirage. Now it seems EU leaders are finally seeking to implement the recommendations of Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta. Better late than never, but these reports are not miracle cures. Today’s Summit in Eastern Belgium gives EU leaders a chance to show that they finally mean business when it comes to stopping the drift and rebooting the economy.
Europe’s Governments and institutions have three core responsibilities. First, to take global upheaval as the starting point for action, abandoning their timid and inward-looking stance when making decisions. Our internal squabbles seem small. Russia is rearming as it wages an illegal war in Europe. The mullahs of Iran are becoming ever more murderous. And China, armed with its industrial arsenal, is eager to catch up with the United States, which in turn is determined to defend its supremacy. The stage is set for a titanic clash.
In its recently published National Security and Defence Strategies, the US goes easy on China, reserving its attacks for Europeans, whom it paints as NATO free-riders and enemies of free speech. It disregards history and displays a willingness to stir up European nationalism again. It dismisses the EU, founded on solidarity and the rule of law, as the enemy to be defeated.
Second, EU leaders must take account of science and global interdependence: climate disruption, collapsing biodiversity and deepening inequality. American denial will not make these crises disappear; it could even accelerate them. In this regard, Europe’s abandonment of the Green Deal is regrettable, as is the way it blames regulations for all our ills. A strategic approach should favour innovation rather than simply perpetuating carbon-intensive production. Such is the harsh law of creative destruction (Schumpeter).
Recognizing the value of natural capital is not an ecological issue but an economic one, as shown by the IPBES report—the IPCC of nature—published this week in Manchester (Assessment on Business and Biodiversity – https://www.ipbes.net/business-impact). Without respect for planetary boundaries, Europeans’ obsession with competitiveness would ultimately be nothing more than predation.
Third, the EU needs to stop overlooking its citizens. Do we still care about giving them decent, well-paid work, housing and access to doctors? Ninety-three million Europeans are close to the bread line, and even the middle class is questioning the future of work, disrupted by AI and cheap imports. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome promised “to improve the living and working conditions of Europeans.” Jean Monnet’s call was “to unite people.” Should we be surprised that the most radical parties are capitalizing on the anger of those whose fate is of so little concern? And what are leaders proposing to strengthen the sense of belonging to the Union?
We will see what EU leaders decide later today, but the list of things they need to do is already clear. The European ideal has not aged. A united Europe is more necessary than ever. Let us address our shortcomings – critical, financial and technical infrastructure; agriculture; defence and security; governance; enlargement and belonging – with purpose but without distraction or aggression. Europe needs a profound rethink of these core issues if it is to hold its place in the world economy while keeping its people safe and prosperous and its environment protected.
