Barroso: Europe must unite
The president of the European Commission tonight issued a new call for the EU to “unite or face irrelevance” in the face of the mounting economic crisis in Italy.
Jose Manuel Barroso said the world was facing fundamental changes to the economic order and European countries had to stand together.
A split EU would not work, he warned, adding: “The challenge is how to further deepen euro-area integration without creating divisions with those who are not yet in it.”
He used a speech in Berlin to challenge “responsible” EU leaders to “make the case for Europe”.
Mr Barroso said: “The world needs a stronger Europe: more Europe, not less.
“Yet there are some in Europe who claim that their country does not need the rest of Europe.
“Populism and sometimes even nationalism raises its head across our continent, claiming that too much Europe is the cause of our current difficulties; claiming that less Europe, or even non-Europe would bring solutions.”
He went on: “This is ignoring the global realities as well as our common history that teaches us that this continent is simply too small and too interdependent for us to stand apart. To turn our backs to each other.”
The argument for “going it alone”, said Mr Barroso, defied economic rationality.
If the euro area of the 17 single currency member states, or the entire 27-country EU, broke apart, he said, the estimated initial cost was up to 50% of EU GDP, with ongoing threats to the prosperity of the next generation.
“That is why all responsible leaders must now make the case for Europe. Make the case for strength through unity. We must engage our citizens in an honest and frank debate about Europe, about its assets and its shortcomings, about its potential and its future.
“We must show our citizens what is at stake. We must choose the path of strength over weakness. Unity over fragmentation. The hard choice over the easy one.”
Mr Barroso said: “The EU does not promise paradise, but it is our best chance for prosperity. It is the single greatest achievement of our time. Our best means to use the crisis as an opportunity for creativity out of destruction.
“The EU was created for moments such as these. We must collectively stand behind it. We must give it the tools it needs to make Europe stronger.”
It was not about “power-grabbing”, Mr Barroso said, adding: “After 30 years in politics – both in the government of my country, including as foreign minister and prime minister, and now after seven years in the European Commission – I want to tell you I have never seen anything so clearly.
“We are witnessing fundamental changes to the economic and geopolitical order that have convinced me that Europe needs to advance now together or risk fragmentation. Europe must either transform itself or it will decline. We are in a defining moment where we either unite or face irrelevance.”
It was not about ``power-grabbing'', said Mr Barroso.
The immediate aim is to strengthen economic controls in the euro area, he said.
“It is clear that the markets make decisions that can affect us all within seconds. In response, we cannot continue to take decisions as we have been doing until now.”
The speed of the EU, and of the euro area, cannot be the speed of its slowest or most reluctant member, he added.
“There are safeguards for those who do not want to go along (with the single currency) – but it is one thing not to go along, and another thing entirely to hinder others to move forward.”
He added: “The case for Europe is a dynamic one. Europe is not a concept that can be finished once and for all. It is a concept that must be, and that can be, adapted to changing circumstances – politically and economically.”
Meanwhile it was reported this evening that German and French officials are planning to radically overhaul the EU, and set up a more integrated and potentially smaller eurozone.
According to EU sources, France and Germany have had intense consultations on this issue over the last few months.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave some flavour of this thinking during an address to students in the city of Strasbourg yesterday, when he said a two-speed Europe was the only model for the future.
It is understood that if one or possibly more countries leave the euro, the remaining countries will push on towards deeper economic integration, including on tax and fiscal policy.
