Which model of Europe?

It isn’t only a question of "more" or "less" Europe, but of "which" Europe. The speech on the state of relations between the United Kingdom and the EU, delivered on January 23 by David Cameron, put into writing the concept of integration according to the English premier, which tends to be limited to the creation of a single market, where goods and capitals can circulate freely, preserving the other barriers that marked the history of Europe across the centuries, from the political to the cultural and social ones. In a nutshell: "English first", which is a legitimate view, most probably be shared by the majority of British citizens, according to the traditional concept of a Europe with its national states. A Europe where obviously neither the euro currency nor banking union have a citizenship, nor economic and financial governance, Fiscal Compact, the Financial Stability Facility and neither Schengen, and not even convergence on a minimum standard of "social rights" (consider the opt outs compared to the Lisbon Treaty), not territorial cohesion and probably not even a univocal energetic or environmental policy…The position of those who have learned the lesson of globalization is different: the major challenges characterizing our epoch – economic, demographic, cultural, environmental, not to mention the respect of fundamental rights or the deep transformations in the Arab world, in China, India, South America… – call for a united, strengthened Europe, capable of remaining a protagonist – and not a mere onlooker – on the international scenario.The face-to-face meeting in Davos, at the World Economic Forum, between Cameron and Angela Merkel, was also a visual one-on-one between "two Europes", the encounter of two models. The German chancellor, EPP member, comparable to a ‘moderate’ political movement (perhaps not very distant from the British Tories), has a different perspective of the economic and social development of her Country and of the EU as a whole. She and Cameron are divided by the so-called "social market economy", which far from being a slogan is a way of interpreting the economic dimension to the light of the welfare state, that encompasses the cultural realm. This means saying ‘yes’ to the free market but it must be corrected by redistributive measures such as budgetary discipline coupled by growth, employment, and a social security that envisages inclusive policies for the less protected population brackets. The development model imagined by Mrs. Merkel, which largely corresponds to the French, Italian and French model of several East-European countries, given new impetus last year in an extensive document by COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community) falls within the framework of half a century of community integration based on solidarity, whereby, compared to the economy, policymakers have a regulatory and coordinating role. This picture does not correspond to the profile of the EU depicted by Cameron, who launched the referendum as an ultimatum. The many voices heard a few days ago focused on one issue: European integration envisages advantages and responsibilities, and the former cannot be fuelled or demanded without the latter. This is the issue on which Cameron will have to clarify his position, long before the 2017 referendum.