Europe can no longer function as a technocratic project

We would like to share here the interview by the greek journalist Yiannis Papageorgiou to the chair of the Spinelli Group Gabriele Bischoff and published in the newspaper Insider with the title: An unacceptable ultimatum for Ukraine and for Europe

To read in Greek here

Gabriele Bischoff, president of the Spinelli Group and MEP belonging to the Socialists and Democrats group, was in Athens on the occasion of the Meeting of the Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and UEF-Greece.

We had the opportunity for a short interview with her, on the sidelines of the opening event of the Conference, in the Senate of the Hellenic Parliament, when she argued that Europe is at a "make it or break it" point.

You mentioned that we are in a 'make it or break it' moment for the EU. Why do you say this?

We have enormous challenges ahead of us; We have a geopolitical situation that is very unstable. The model of globalization we knew now belongs to history. We are seeing growing nationalism in many Member States and we are facing problems related to the competitiveness of our industry, our business model as well... With these global challenges, for example, economies that rely heavily on exports face enormous difficulties. And at this juncture we really need a strong European response. We are also in a period of war in Europe, where we see that Europe no longer plays a role. If you look at Trump's proposals and the so-called 28-point plan... If Europe wants to play a role in the world in the future, if it wants to create a strong economy, if it really wants to become more independent and strengthen its strategic economy, it needs to change course. It must have the resources and policies to be a strong player and ensure prosperity for all in the future.

You point out the geopolitical changes that are taking place at the moment. In what ways do you think the Federalists or the Socialists and Democrats should reposition themselves so that their positions can be more effective?

If the European Union had followed the recommendations of the Federalists earlier, for example with regard to changes in the Treaties, but also with regard to the proposals of the Socialists and Democrats Group, we would not have been in a situation like the one we are in today. If we had taken the next steps in security and foreign policy, for example by reducing the possibilities for vetoes, speaking with a European voice, we could have got there. If we had the courage to take some next steps in integration...

Do you think that this also applies to the deepening and completion of the single market? In fact, if we were to take the Draghi and Letta reports as a compass for the future...

When Jacques Delors created the single market, he had a vision for Europe and also a political vision associated with it. Today, if we perceive it simply as a "technocratic exercise" and focus only on technocratic steps in terms of the direction in which we want to transform Europe, this will not work. If everyone only takes the points of the two reports that they like and we do not discuss again a great European project, a vision for Europe with concrete steps, we will not succeed. Europe can no longer function as a purely technocratic project.

Are you optimistic about the future, considering the serious obstacles you mentioned?

Yes, because I have seen that Europe is capable of acting when it is under enormous pressure. We saw it in COVID-19, we also saw it when the war started. I would like to have a European Union that can be reformed in good times, because when you are under pressure, you have to be very fast and then sometimes you make mistakes. But I know and I am convinced that Europe can change in very difficult situations, and I believe that we are already in quite difficult situations. How many threats and how many bells — for example now with Trump's plan for Ukraine — how many wake-up calls does the EU need to really respond?