An EU with advantages that should be bigger and better

Opinions

The UK’s referendum on EU membership had many flaws but at least one virtue: clearly highlighting, as never before in that country, the advantages of belonging to a united Europe. It is by no means insignificant, bearing in mind that this message is being closely listened to on the other side of the Channel by public opinion bombarded with views to the contrary with the spread of the economic crisis and the growth of all kinds of anti-EU populist movements.

The first advantage is crucial: not to be isolated. We live in a world where globalisation is expanding in the absence of a transnational government worthy of such a name - neither the G8, nor the G20, not least the United Nations are. Being able to address the major problems of our times together with other countries that share similarities based on their history, geography, culture, economy, society and politics – democracy and respect for human rights as the indisputable European model of coexistence – is a fundamental advantage.

Imagine if each member of the EU had to negotiate separate international trade agreements: they would undoubtedly be weaker.

The second advantage is the growth brought about by the single market itself, even though it is not 100 per cent complete. Without the free movement of goods, capital, services and people, the economic development of European Union members would have been much slower, with direct effects on employment.

The third advantage is the ability to be paid, to pay and to save in a single currency, the euro, which has established itself as a major international currency and enjoys undoubted strength. Let us not forget, in this respect, that belonging to the Economic and Monetary Union is both a right and an obligation of all EU member states, unless they explicitly opt out (as is the case with the United Kingdom and Denmark).

For members of the Eurozone, the European Central Bank plays a key role in tackling economic and financial instability and recession, as shown by the work it does on a day-to-day basis.

The fourth advantage is the economic, social and territorial cohesion accompanying the single market since the Maastricht Treaty: thousands of projects have contributed significant added value to areas such as transport infrastructure, the environment, urban regeneration and occupational training, without which the quality of life in the less prosperous parts of the Union would be substantially lower.

The fifth advantage is being part of an incipient social Europe, set to favour and foster workers’ rights (such as European collective bargaining) and preventing all forms of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, age, origin, race, belief and physical or mental disability.

The sixth advantage is the guarantee offered by EU policies in areas such as agriculture, environmental protection, food security and consumer rights in general.

We have the certainty, as citizens, that the EU is capable of ensuring its own food supply, thanks to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – despite the many elements of this policy that could and should be improved. Environmental and noise pollution in urban areas cannot exceed certain levels, regardless of the level of commitment of the relevant local administration. We eat and drink is protected by strict traceability, preventing any risk to our health. If airlines overbook or if one of their flights is unjustifiably delayed we will be duly compensated.

The seventh advantage is that we benefit from the research supported and promoted by EU funding in areas directly affecting us, such as the research into cancer and other major illnesses. Many projects are made viable and implementable thanks to the EU, in the absence of public or private funding possibilities at national level.

The eighth advantage is that of being European citizens, with all that entails, from the right to vote and stand as candidates for the European Parliament or municipal elections in our country of residence, even if we are not nationals of that country, to the right to petition the European Parliament.

There is the right to file complaints with the European Ombudsman against EU bodies, and the right to consular protection, in addition to the benefits of programmes highly and justly valued for their excellence, such as Erasmus, in which tens of thousands of young people from EU member states have taken part.

There is no doubt that the EU as it stands is not perfect. Nor does it have the policies and resources needed to meet the legitimate demands of EU citizens as a whole. But the only way to improve it is by being a part of it and to work towards this through major, cross-cutting agreements involving countries, institutions, social and political families and civil society organisations.

In this respect, major steps, in two crucial areas, are required to complete the process of European political union. Once they have been taken, EU citizens will see a perceptible improvement in their quality of life.

-  The first step: perfecting economic and monetary union by establishing a European treasury with sufficient resources for a budget that has now become too small to have any impact on the cycle; mutualising public debt through the emission of Eurobonds, and tax harmonisation to avoid fiscal dumping. These tools, combined with an end to austerity for austerity’s sake as a single policy and the switch to a policy geared towards growth and employment, are crucial to the short and medium-term future.

-  The second: building a truly social Europe that avoids downward pressure on pay and working conditions and is equipped with tools, for that and other purposes, such as a European minimum wage and a complementary European unemployment benefit scheme, which, in addition to respecting the principle of solidarity, would alleviate the debt burden of the countries hardest hit by the crisis, making it possible to face the asymmetric shocks from future recessions or stagnation with safeguards.

Recovering European workers’ support for the EU, which has always been backed by representative trade unions’ active participation in the gains secured over six decades, is essential to strengthening the Community project and to offering a reasoned and fact-based response to the populists trying to dissolve the best collective work in the history of our continent.

 

This article has been translated from Spanish.