Three pillars of the European house – 70 years of peace between neighbouring nations; the rule of law; freedom of speech. Three great public rooms – healthcare, education and public support for people in need. Four open doorways – free movement of people, goods, services and money. These qualities are why Europe is both a home and destination of choice.
This weekend two very different politicians, from Poland and Greece, lent their weight to the arguments for Britain remaining in the European Union. In the Financial Times Radek Sikorski, former Foreign Minister of Poland, repeated his call for Britain not only to remain but to lead in Europe, particularly on foreign policy in which he feels that Britain has unique value to contribute. There was a similar expectation in 1973, when Britain joined the European Common Market – people looked to Britain to contribute its long experience of parliamentary democracy and international diplomacy to the cause of wider and deeper peace and co-operation to a Europe that only 30 years before had been engaged in a murderous civil war. In many ways, through its civil servants in Europe, Britain did contribute but the political rhetoric has always been half-hearted at best.
Yanis Varoufakis, formerly Finance Minister of Greece, wrote in an article in The Guardian that ‘the European Community was, in its earliest incarnation, a magnificent undertaking’. He details Europe’s democratic failings and the forces of centralisation that he encountered so fiercely when he was negotiating on behalf of Greece last year. He notes that David Cameron’s inconsequential ‘negotiation’ to give himself some reason for holding a referendum opens up the space for institutionalising xenophobia and re-establishing borders within Europe. But his article announces a new drive to democratise Europe, beginning on February 9th in Berlin, with the launch of DiEM25, the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025. Its aim is to build and embed much greater democratic accountability throughout Europe so that ‘the magnificent undertaking’ that has given us the three pillars – peace, law, freedom of speech – should have renewed foundations, resting on a bedrock of popular engagement and assent.
This is an evolution of the European Union that would inspire all generations of European citizens. To engage in it, requires us to be in it.
It’s hard work helping to make the world a better place, but no harder than making it worse. We must do the work.
See also Don’t fence us in
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