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“The European Union is going through a profound crisis”, declared Jean-Claude Juncker, after the debates in Brussels on the financial plans of the EU for the period 2007-2013 ended in failure on the late evening of 17 June. The signs where there, because at times the heads of state and of government take important decisions without thinking of the consequences of their actions. That was the case in December 1999 when, at Helsinki, under strong American pressure, they decided to grant Turkey candidate “status” as prospective member of the Union. A second case occurred with the ban imposed on Austria due to the participation of a popular right-wing party in the government in Vienna. The gradual erosion of confidence continued with the violation of the Stability Pact by Germany and France, as with other decisions and measures that show that the heads of state and of government do not always deliver on what they promise. An example is provided by the “Lisbon Strategy”, for which declarations were issued at the European level that were not respected at the national level. In response to these facts, characterized by a lack of mutual trust between the leaders, by a lack of direction and guidance and, consequently, by a loss of trust on the part of citizens in Europe’s leaders, a feeling of discontent, a sense of frustration has been diffused which is addressed against the political system, politics, the political class and the institutions themselves. This is compounded by the anxieties aroused by the enlargement of the EU, on the one hand, and the social policy, on the other. It is feared that the first will seriously jeopardize the second, with negative consequences for the system of social security and the labour market. Unfortunately, many years have elapsed without the necessary reforms being implemented, in particular in the stronger countries (France, Germany and Italy) to revive the economy and create new jobs. All this, however, does not alter the fact that the countries of Western Europe are better off from a material, economic and social point of view than those of Central and Eastern Europe, whose heads of state and of government declared in Brussels, on the evening of 18 June, that they were willing to renounce certain financial benefits in favour of a common solution, whereas the heads of the far more affluent countries of Western Europe insisted selfishly on their own advantages. Jean-Claude Juncker, rightly, found all this shameful. However, the lesson in dignity, given by the new and poor member states to the old and rich members of the Union, is the one sign of hope that emerges from this crisis. As already happened with the previous crises in the process of European unification, this current crisis too may prompt reflection and generate an impetus that will lead to new confidence, and a stronger sense of solidarity, that will make it possible to find a solution to the problems that are now afflicting the Europeans.
