Eurocritics boost the EU

The European Parliament elections mark the beginning of a renewal for European institutions. By the end of this year, the President of the European Commission and its College of Commissioners will be elected, including the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the President of the European Council. This will be followed by the appointment of the head of the Eurogroup… Meanwhile, the Union will have to continue to tackle the crisis and – although there are signs of recovery – to remain vigilant on the foreign and neighbourhood policy. All this while pursuing its ordinary common policies… Guntram B. Wolff, Director of Bruegel, a think tank based in Brussels, and an authoritative voice in the area of European politics, gives some insights into what may lie ahead. Mr Wolff is an expert on European economy, governance, and monetary and budgetary policies, having worked at the European Commission, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the International Monetary Fund. First of all, let us examine the relations between EU institutions and citizens. The elections were characterised by a high rate of abstention, which however was lower than in 2009. The electoral outcome will bring to Strasbourg and Brussels numerous “Eurosceptic” representatives, yet pro-European MEPs will continue to hold a majority in the European Parliament. What are your general views on the outcome of these elections? “First of all, I think it is good to have critical voices represented in the European Parliament. The EU is indeed still in a constitution building phase. In such a phase, it is good for democracy to have critical MEPs that will force the pro-integration MEPs to focus more on what citizens actually want. I am sure, this constellation will allow for a more healthy European integration process. My second conclusion is that the vote shows that citizens are not satisfied with their economic situation. The new leadership will therefore have to focus on economic results”. According to you, what issues should be a priority on the European agenda? Economic growth? Jobs? Foreign policy? Migration? Citizens’ rights? “I think the focus for the new leadership should be on growth and jobs as well as on the neighbourhood policy. The EU needs to grow more to solve its debt problems as well as to create more jobs. We need a serious debate on what are the best options to create such jobs. I would certainly focus on more public investment and the hard structural reforms that many countries have been delaying for far too long. We should not follow the illusion that growth reforms are easy to do. In addition, I am very worried by the very volatile neighbourhood”. Ukraine, Russia, Syria but also the Balkans and Turkey. And the Mediterranean countries… What can “neighbouring countries” expect from the European Union? Is a European foreign and neighbourhood policy gradually being shaped or not? “The EU has failed to develop a coherent strategy to the Arab spring as well as to the crisis in Ukraine. It is time to re-adjust our policies towards our neighbourhood but also to strengthen our internal energy market to become more independent from gas imports. This would also be a way of increasing investment spending now. I find the proposals by the Polish Prime minister to form an Energy Union quite interesting, even though many details will need discussion”.