"the coming year will be a challenge for democracy," writes Metz, pictured Matic Zorman/archives

"the coming year will be a challenge for democracy," writes Metz, pictured Matic Zorman/archives

 

Reinventing Europe is what is at stake here. While the European project carries within it values of peace, cooperation and solidarity that are more precious than ever, it has, over time, distanced itself from this ideal to become a distant objective. Too focused on its internal market and international trade, the EU has often forgotten the daily concerns of Europeans, creating a distance with its citizens that is now deadly.

The EU is essential to meet the challenges of our time, be they health, climate or societal. The problem is that today, Europe cooperates on limited bases and is guided by economic stakes from which the health and well-being of Europeans do not always derive, on the contrary.

At a time when, following the health crisis, Europe is once again facing an economic and social crisis, it is urgent to renew these principles of cooperation. In a context of growing Euroscepticism and fuelled by the austerity imposed for several decades, the coming year will be decisive. The Europe of the market must become a Europe of solidarity and ecology in order to reconnect with its citizens. And three areas of action will be crucial: the budget, health and democracy.

Let us start with the current emergency, solidarity in the face of the crisis. The EU has made various funds available to deal with the economic slowdown, and now it is a matter of having a long-term response to mitigate the social and economic consequences of this crisis.

Here, Europe is fighting for its future. It is deplorable that, in the agreement for the recovery plan, the amount originally earmarked for the public health programme has disappeared, and that the amount earmarked for the Just Transition Fund has been reduced to a third of its budget. And I am appalled when some of the less affected countries allow themselves to negotiate to reduce their financial contribution. It is Europe that they are putting at risk. What European citizen will support a Europe that closes its doors in the most difficult times? The first challenge for the coming year will be to build real budgetary solidarity with a strong social and ecological component.

Reinventing Europe also means strengthening its actions in favour of the well-being of Europeans. In recent years, European budgetary precepts have led to greater liberalisation of public health services, to the detriment of essential investments in public hospitals and the working conditions of our health workers, which have nevertheless shown their essential nature during this crisis.

Unlike the market, health has not been established as a priority, and that is what needs to change! We must start by enabling the member states to invest massively in public health, guaranteeing patients access to high-quality care throughout Europe, and setting criteria for ensuring that carers have equal and dignified working conditions.

Next, to establish rules for relocating the production of medicines in Europe, and thus avoid shortages of medicines, to create public research centres, and thus a network of European centres of expertise, and to give the health of Europeans as much weight as the operation of the internal market in the Union's public policies. The European scale is the right one to undertake these efforts. Living in Europe must be synonymous with well-being, health innovation and social protection.

Finally, the coming year will be a challenge for democracy. The Conference on the Future of Europe will open, and Europeans will be able to give their views on what our common project should become. What kind of Europe do we want for tomorrow? The EU is not perfect, but together we will be more successful in avoiding future crises. And it is together, first and foremost in the interests of our citizens, that we must reinvent Europe!

 

This article was originally published in French on paperjam.lu