Dr. Susana del Río member of the Experts Committee of the EU in Democracy in a supranational context ; Project leader, Europe, in the Institute for Democratic Governance.
Article, in spanish, published in Euroefe and, in English, published in Presseurop
Although Europe is not a computer, it has the ability to start over and over again without stopping. This is exactly what it has demonstrated several times. Europe is an achievement that is always working. There are stages, such as the one we are encountering now, during which a revaluation of the European Union is a must. We have almost always considered and sought for the citizens’ approval. In these months of economical crisis, and of reopening debates concerning issues which seemed to be solid and well anchored in the EU such as the Schengen agreement, we have to broaden revaluation not just to the citizens’ eyes but also to those of the politicians, the media and all those who work for the European commitment.
It seems that a cloud of euroescepticism and criticism, which is not always constructivist, is invading us and it is outshading what Europe really is and means. In this temporary brume, we cannot lose the North or the South…, it is important to activate the European compass and focus on resolving specific problems, as stated by Schuman.
Combining concrete solutions with “dreaming” measures.
When we reboot our computer there are a few minutes of uncertainty because when we click the “reset” button the computer might not come on again. However, the programs remain active. If we wait patiently and with conviction, we realize that everything starts to work again and that the files that we had been working on for many hours and days are still there. By using the analogy of rebooting Europe I refer to the fact that Europe never stops and that it finds new formulae of getting integrated and carry on working in difficult and changing periods with well saved files of values, transnational democracy, political innovation, solidarity as well as search of consensus through debate.
The European democracy, and its model inherent debate, is a democracy in which the value of the representative democracy should be recovered and complemented with a participative one which unfolds its action in different ways. Democracy and democracies.
It is important to underline that the weakness or strength of the European transnational democracy will largely depend on the quality of the political discussion and the ability, as well as the will, of the deputies, experts and officials in encouraging the mass media to broadcast the meaning of Europe and its way of functioning. It is necessary to communicate the luminous area of the EU through real and balanced news which transmit the issues of discussion day by day, showing the richness of the parliamentary debate, the European answers to the citizens as well as the decision making method of the European Union.
Being realistic, and seeing that the European ideal is fading away even among the perception of optimistic people, it is time to restart the European project. When doing so, care must be taken of the values, capacity and the recovery of high politics while ensuring the provision of an opportunity to the democratic intuition without losing sight of great importance issues which require a political vision in the short, medium and long term.
