Lack of harmony

Instilling a genuine sentiment of common belonging in the citizens of the European Union: that’s the aim of the programme “Europe for citizens”: a programme that, according to JOANNA LOPATOWSKA-RYNKOWSKA in the May number of “Europe infos”, monthly bulletin of the Community of episcopates of the European Community (Comece) and the Catholic Office for Information and Initiative for Europe (Ocipe), intends to “convince Europeans that it is the citizens, and not the institutions, that make Europe in the first place”. A central theme in this number of the review is citizenship and the future of the continent. WHAT CITIZENSHIP? In April the European Parliament approved on first reading numerous amendments to the proposed programme 2007-2013, aimed at promoting European citizenship and values. It also changed the programme’s name: from “Citizens for Europe”, the programme was re-branded “Europe for citizens”: “a symbolic and at the same significant change of the objectives to be achieved – notes Lopatowska-Rynkowska -, bearing in mind the results of some referenda on the European Constitution”. To the three main planks of the action plan: “Active citizens for Europe”, “An active civil society for Europe” and “Everyone together for Europe”, MEPs have now added a fourth: “An active European memory”. The programme provides for twinning between cities; projects of a national and inter-sectorial character; and support for associations, networks and organizations of civil society, at the European level: all this, observes the author of the article, “can encourage associative participation at the local level”. The budget of the programme for the period 2007-2013 will be at least 235 million euros. GREATER PARTICIPATION. The “clouds of dissatisfaction, frustration, disenchantment and deep malcontent” that hang over Europe are discussed, in turn by CLARE COFFEY. During the year following the French and Dutch “no” to the referendum on the Constitutional Treaty, “the Union – says Coffey – has advanced with the objective of achieving tangible economic results and reinforcing the European project”. At the centre of attempts to reform the economy of the 25 member states is “the Lisbon Strategy, revised at the start of 2005”, in addition to “the action plans of each individual member state submitted to the European Commission last autumn”. “The political will seems to be there – comments Coffey -, but the same cannot be said of European citizens”. In Coffey’s view, the crux of the problem seems to be “the lack of harmony between citizens and political leaders on questions of Europe”, and the latest political elections in Germany and in Italy “express the ambiguity of this relation”. “Are European citizens – asks Coffey – perhaps blind to the dangers that are threatening our economies if we fail to adjust to the challenges of globalization through reforms?” Are they perhaps unable to accept “those reforms that could lead to the revival of the European economy”? Or perhaps the blame should lie with the political leaders who “do not offer remedies able to win unreserved support?” Whatever the reason, according to Coffey, a joint effort is imperative to foster the more active participation of citizens” in this process of reform. THE FUTURE OF EUROPE. “Helping citizens to reflect on their own aspirations about Europe”: that is the aim of the “pause for reflection that was opened by EU leaders last June. It led to the European Commission publishing in October 2005 its so-called Plan D (Democracy, Dialogue, Debate) and launching on the Internet in recent weeks a discussion forum in 20 languages on the future of the continent. MIKOLAJ DOWGIELEWICZ (of the European Commission for institutional relations and communication strategy) reports that already “during the first two weeks since the opening of the forum over 3,000 interventions have been registered”. English is the language most used (36%), followed by French (23%) and by German (18%). In fourth place is Dutch (4%) ex aequo with Catalan (“a surprising result”, comments Dowgielewicz). The forum has permitted a “high-quality debate between supporters and opponents of the EU” on such questions as “economic liberalization, globalization, social protection, capitalism, socialism, and the languages of Europe”. “Many people – observes Dowgielewicz – declare themselves favourable to a wider teaching of the languages within the EU and seem willing to adopt English as the main European language”. It is still “too early to respond to this exercise of listening [to citizens], he concludes, “; nonetheless, “though the time for a Plan B on the draft Constitutional Treaty is not yet ripe, the moment has perhaps come to prepare for action” and “demonstrate that the Union intends to furnish concrete responses to the grave concerns of its citizens”.