In the national agendas

Europe Day did not end on 9 May: it remains to remind us of the importance of what is at stake in the European Union, in its project of reuniting the peoples and nations of Europe in a common future. The Declaration of Robert Schuman of 9 May 1950, ever pertinent, resounds with particular urgency this year. In effect, roughly a year ago, during the European Council in June, the heads of state and of government decided, following the shock results of the French and Dutch referenda on the Constitutional Treaty, to call for a pause for reflection on the future of Europe. The results of these referenda had confirmed a sad paradox: the unique character of the European project and its success, but also the fact that it has found no place in the hearts and minds of Europe’s citizens.In October, the European Commission published a Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate. On 1st February 2006, seeing that the reflection process had not yet been set in motion, the Commission promulgated a White Paper on European communication policy. This White Paper, which forms part of the Action Plan of July 2005 on communication, aims at mobilising the main actors at the level of the European Union, member states and civil society, as well as those at the local and regional level, to intensify their efforts of communication on the importance of the European project. Will the efforts of the institutions of the European Union to revive the period of reflection bear fruit? Plan D envisaged the holding of a major conference in Brussels on 9 May with the participation of interlocutors at all levels. This idea was recently abandoned and replaced by a meeting on the future of Europe at the European Parliament with MPs of national parliaments on 8-9 May. This decidedly marks a choice in favour of representative rather than participative democracy.This change in approach could show itself to be smart, because the elected politicians at the national level can play a fundamental role in transmitting the keys to an understanding of and pride in our European institutions and the procedures relating to them. In the past, some of them too easily and unjustly stigmatised these institutions when they took difficult decisions aimed at promoting the common interest of Europe. It is essential, at the level as Europe as a whole, that they integrate the revival of the European Union in their national political agendas and revive interest in them in a new way.The paradox of the current European situation reminds us, however, that our politicians cannot alone win over the necessary support of citizens. That’s the central message of the COMECE document on the evolution of the European Union and on the responsibility of Catholics, published in 2005 on the occasion of Europe Day. Since then this document has been studied by various groups in various member states. That was the purpose for which it was conceived. The local churches, the Catholic organizations and the university world can make use of this document to help stimulate, as a matter of urgency, the interest of citizens in the European project, which is vital for the future of our countries and our regions.