Open fronts and fibrillations

Problems to solve, questions to answer and political tensions are multiplying in Europe. We’ve had further proof of this in recent days: the G8 meeting in Northern Ireland and the Turkey protests, the economic crisis that is spilling beyond national borders into the hot (and not only because of the summer season) squares of Sofia, Athens, Prague, Madrid, Budapest… Germany is concentrating on the September elections. In the United Kingdom, France and Italy, governments and parliamentary majorities, are hardly in good health. But the 27 Member States can not afford to stand on the sidelines regarding what is happening in its vicinity: Syria burns, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Mediterranean are far from a full and real political stabilization and the Albanian elections of 23 June leave many doubts on the respect for the democratic process. The words and the deeds. At the G8 meeting, the “great” seem to have finally agreed that after the harmful effects of the recession, growth is the priority, accompanied by – indeed primarily intended to addressed – job creation. Over 26 million people across the 27 EU countries are unemployed, a fifth of whom are under 25 years of age. So at the 17-18 June meeting in Enniskillen, president Obama together with European representatives and those of the other States have decided that “austerity” is no longer the watchword (to heal the public accounts), but rather a mix of investments, new opportunities, spending, consumption, trade, and innovation. Easy to say, but it is an important step forward once we take into account how the economic and social situation of households and businesses has become unsustainable. In this context, leaders at the G8, and especially the European ones, have been scrambling to declare themselves ready to do everything in their power to promote employment and to counter tax evasion (it is never too late!), although a hefty document released on June 19 by the European Commission points out that the past few years seem to have been moving in the opposite direction.Inadequate growth. After the Wednesday Commissioners’ meeting (the most important of the week) and in view of the EU Heads of State summit which will take place at the end of June and which will mark the end of the Irish Presidency, President José Manuel Barroso said: “Europe is doing its best to leave this crisis behind, but growth remains weak and some parts of Europe are going through a real social emergency”. The next summit “could allow us to reach a new consensus at the EU level on measures to boost growth.” Barroso added: “We are proposing concrete measures to tackle youth unemployment and, together with the European Investment Bank (EIB), to support the financing of the real economy, especially small and medium-sized enterprises”.Three contributions. In view of all this, the Commission has prepared three contributions for the 27-28 June European Council which will focus on recovery, governance, and monetary and banking union. Two of these were unveiled: one dedicated on combating youth unemployment and another on reviewing the “Pact for Growth and Employment” which was launched just over a year ago by the 27 and that seems to have remained on paper (just like the promised 120 billion euros of public investment). A third contribution, prepared jointly by the Executive and the EIB and regarding increased lending to the real economy, is undergoing final adjustments. According to Barroso, “this package of initiatives will help Europe to improve the situation by helping workers to re-enter the labor market, by facilitating business investment and by enabling banks to lend to the real economy.” Words that some might call over- optimistic, especially when followed by “EU member states must pass from words to deeds if they intend to reverse the economic course”, which is becoming a bit of a familiar refrain.Immediate funds for young people. The document on youth employment mentions current European initiatives, although – and it is no passing note – “some of them have yet to be approved at the EU level” (i.e. by the Council and European Parliament), “in particular those related to the multiannual financial framework”. What this means is that since member states tend to lower their financial contributions, it will be impossible to move forward without an adequate budget. However, the Board of Commissioners is insisting on the implementation of the “Youth Guarantee”, which would require states to offer a job, further education or work-focused training to young people at the latest four months after leaving education or after becoming unemployed. In this regard, the Commission proposes to concentrate spending the €6 billion in the first two years of the youth employment initiative of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020.