The need for principles and ambitions

The Lithuanian six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union took office at the beginning of July. For the first time a Baltic country that joined the "common home" less than a decade ago assumes the political leadership of the EU. In order to understand the mood of Lithuanians to this regard, Sarah Numico for SIR Europe interviewed Paulius Subaèius, dean of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy, professor of Semiotics and Theory of Literature at the University of Vilnius.Lithuania began the six-month presidency with a great amount of confidence, also thanks to its successful tackling of the economic crisis. With which tools does it assume its new role? "Our Country adopted very simple tools to address the crisis. First of all people started to live according to their income. Funding via government programs was allocated to enterprises with sound budgets, but just a small number of them complied with such requirements. Pensions and wages of civil servants underwent severe cuts, notably those of policymakers, while ministers’ salaries were reduced by up to 50%. Indeed, these are ‘passive’ measures, which in some cases affected people with low wages, but there was no alternative. In Europe the public opinion is more prone to accept growth-boosting measures, but I’m not sure that they will be sufficient. We must start living on lower consumption rates and find the inner strength to address larger development prospects. Lithuania is a young country. People went through social and political transformations thus they are more prone to accept further changes". The Lithuanian six-month program focuses on the markets. In their message to Lithuanians, at the beginning of the semester, the bishops wrote: "the real progress of societies is measured through human moral condition, rather than through GDP growth. When the former is ignored, laws and administrative provisions are hardly capable of containing the decline". What do you think about these words? "GDP growth doesn’t necessarily entail improvements involving all societal brackets, or the improvement of education and health. Nor does it guarantee sustainable and long-lasting development. Lithuania’s GDP underwent constant growth for the past 20 years and it is presently one of the highest in Europe. But Lithuania ranks first in terms of suicide rates, alcohol consumption… these problems don’t simply disappear, and a sound economy is not enough to overcome them. Moral qualities such as responsibility, autonomy, creativity, determination, are essential for a sustainable economy. In post-Soviet countries small enterprises are too few, since people lack the courage to take economic initiatives. These too are moral qualities. I think that the bishops refer to the ‘emancipation’ of the people. A society made of independent and responsible people is an objective linked to moral progress and it ensures prosperity". What is contemporary Europe lacking to restore cohesion and strength within the unity project? "Europe is lacking principles and ambitions. Europe has always been open and capable to integrate foreign influences, as described by Remi Brague. But being open and not having principles is not the same thing. When we fail to say that we are a Christian civilization, we are refusing to declare the principles underlying our strength, we positively discriminate all minorities, thus we renounce being a majority, and this causes the decline. The same happens with ambitions. Europe rejects the yearning to have a strong role in the world, as it brings to mind colonialism and inequality. But Christians are called to create a civilization of love, which is a very radical ambition. It could unite all European populations".Totalitarianisms denied all forms of freedom. Today we witness the triumph of freedom. But none of the two models brings justice, social cohesion, or environmental responsibility. Why? "I spent the first 20 years of my life under soviet occupation. On the basis of that experience I can draw a concrete comparison between the situation of justice, social cohesion, environmental awareness under a dictatorship and in contemporary Europe. In the Soviet regime these sensitivities simply didn’t exist. But they do exist now today and we can discuss them openly. We certainly lack the degree of justice and social cohesion we would like. Earthly life is not perfect, thus nothing ns social order and lifestyle is ideal. We always have to fight for more justice, more care of others. In other words, the commandment of loving our neighbor is a constant challenge for us all, rather than being the outcome of a public system".