Subject: The Brief, sponsored by Boeing: Europe enters new Dark Ages
From: EurActiv <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2017 16:19:26 +0000

The Brief, sponsored by Boeing: Europe enters new Dark Ages     
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    <http://eurac.tv/6UtT?sid=33541>    Today's EU policy news,
02.03.2017, 5PM

       = Europe enters new Dark Ages =

      === By  Jorge Valero <http://eurac.tv/6UAE?sid=33541> ===

 The EU is, perhaps, the modern heir to the Holy Roman Empire. Like the
Empire 700 years ago, it is in  decline <http://eurac.tv/6UtN?sid=33541>
– sinking into an uncomfortable middle age.

 We’re not being ravaged by the plague or pressganged into peasant armies
by our lords and masters.

 But poverty and  inequality <http://eurac.tv/6UtO?sid=33541> have
increased and leaders, slaves to their pollsters, are whipping up the
masses to ward off mobs of migrants and other foreigners.

 Europe is facing an “existential crisis”, European Commission
president Jean-Claude Juncker said in September. “A critical time,” EU
leaders agreed days later in Bratislava.

 Thanks for the diagnosis but where’s the cure? What good is a doctor who
tells you you've got cancer but doesn't even offer you a plaster?

 The leaders of the European Union seem unable to be not brave enough to
ask the right questions about Europe’s future, let alone offer the
solutions.

 Everyone knows what the problem is. In a nutshell*:* a  generation
<http://eurac.tv/6UtM?sid=33541> condemned to living worse off than their
parents.

 Things are only going to get worse. The world will be more competitive and
unstable in the years to come. The  digital revolution
<http://eurac.tv/6UtP?sid=33541> will destroy hundreds of thousands of
jobs, and careers will become more insecure. The gap between winners and
losers will widen.

 Coming together in a Union was a way to prevent popular unrest and
instability, which will surely result from the economic decomposition.

 “More Europe”, though, should not only mean that powers are
transferred to Brussels and its eurocrats. It should mean prosperity
through pooled, democratically controlled resources. Especially for the
rainy days that are sure to come.

 Some in the Commission and the capitals whimper that now is  not the right
time <http://eurac.tv/6UtQ?sid=33541> to articulate bold visions and call
for ambitious proposals.

 Populists at home and frenemies abroad, like Donald Trump, call for
pragmatism. Had such appeasement won the day 60 years ago, the Union would
never have been formed.

 If the politicians who proudly come forward to face populists are not bold
enough to come up with compelling solutions, and cannot implement them, why
do they ask for our support? Why do they want to lead our common European
institutions?

 This shrinking Europe needs ambition, energy and courage. Maybe it is time
for its leaders to hand over to the generation they are failing so badly.

      == The Roundup ==

 The European Commission has threatened member states with legal action,
unless they step up their  relocation of migrants
<http://eurac.tv/6Uwo?sid=33541>.

 EU leaders have been told by the Council to keep the end of the first week
of April free for a Brexit summit <http://eurac.tv/6Uwp?sid=33541> but
the date will ultimately depend on Theresa May’s notification timetable,
which was delayed last night <http://eurac.tv/6Uwq?sid=33541> by the
House of Lords.

 Angela Merkel is “disappointed” by the arrest of a leading journalist
in Turkey but Ankara’s part in managing the refugee crisis means
Berlin’s response will be limited <http://eurac.tv/6Uwr?sid=33541>.

 François Hollande got involved with the French presidential campaign
for the first time <http://eurac.tv/6Uws?sid=33541> when he denounced
François Fillon’s attack on the judiciary. Fillon’s former deputy, and
his wife’s ex-boss, has backed  controversial copyright reforms
<http://eurac.tv/6Uwt?sid=33541> in the European Parliament.

 An architect of the reforms to the Emissions Trading System, MEP Ian
Duncan,  shares his surprise <http://eurac.tv/6Uwu?sid=33541> at the
positive outcome of the recent Environment Council.

 EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly is investigating
<http://eurac.tv/6Uwv?sid=33541> the European Investment Bank after three
NGOs submitted a complaint. O’Reilly  has also written
<http://eurac.tv/6Uww?sid=33541> to Jean-Claude Juncker, demanding
transparency in the upcoming Brexit negotiations.

 Macedonia’s president has been accused of causing a coup
<http://eurac.tv/6Uwx?sid=33541>. Bulgaria’s interim government said it
would nominate someone to replace Kristalina Georgieva
<http://eurac.tv/6Uwy?sid=33541> as its Commissioner if end-of-month
elections do not yield a clear result.

 Support for a “social pillar” gained more momentum
<http://eurac.tv/6Uwz?sid=33541> as Malta and Athens agreed it should be
an integral part of the EU’s future. Juncker was in Slovenia today
<http://eurac.tv/6UwA?sid=33541> to meet its prime minister after he
presented the Commission’s White Paper yesterday.

 Sweden is bringing back military conscription
<http://eurac.tv/6UwB?sid=33541> and the Visegrád countries want food
safety laws changed so that inferior versions
<http://eurac.tv/6UwC?sid=33541> of the same food brands don’t find
their way onto Central and Eastern Europe’s shelves.

 Bravo to Spanish MEP Iratxe Garcia Perez for responding brilliantly
to this misogynist politician <http://eurac.tv/6UwE?sid=33541>. S&D group
leader Gianni Pittella has urged the Parliament to sanction the
non-attached MEP for his “shameless statements”.

 The threat of mass protests looks to have Donald Trump running scared
<http://eurac.tv/6UwF?sid=33541> as his state visit to the UK, already
pushed back to October, might now be mostly held in Scotland. Not that he
has much of a fanbase there either <http://eurac.tv/6UwG?sid=33541>…

 *Sam Morgan contributed to this Brief.*

      == Look out for… ==

 Northern Ireland goes to the polls today following the resignation of
former Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness
<http://eurac.tv/6UwH?sid=33541>. A result is expected sometime tomorrow.

 *Views are the author's and not our sponsor's. *

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We collaborate with airlines, governments, and industry to advance regional
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Australia, South Africa, Canada and the US. After all – sustainability is
local!*

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