On November 22-23, an extraordinary meeting of the European Council will be held in Brussels to reach an agreement on the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework, based on the project put forward by the President of the European Council in close cooperation with the Cypriot presidency and the President of the Commission.
One can already imagine the difficulties in reaching a compromise between the different positions expressed by the member countries, each wanting to maximize their gains from the community orientations and funding.
The economic and social crisis is a reminder of the difficulties faced by populations, with governments trying by all means to stop this decline, which is both real and psychological.
But is the analysis always right?
In the Middle Ages as today, crises are conducive to the emergence of myths of all kinds. Just as the plague was attributed to the Jews, the misfortunes of the world would be the fault of Europe and the single currency.
From the Middle Ages, from that time when Europe was devastated by the Black Plague, we did not only learn to wash our hands better. Our ancestors also “inspired” us in crisis management: during periods of crisis, society does not seek the causes of the problem but rather (false) culprits.
The real causes, the facts, the serious arguments matter much less than those the majority is determined to believe.
Were the Jews responsible for the plague? Can the euro be blamed for the crisis we are going through? Can we think that in the age of science and facts, we have left far behind the time of myths?
Firstly, the myth that Europe is in decline appears very easy to accept. But if we look at Europe’s development since 2000, we see that its share of global production has remained stable at around 30%, while that of the United States has fallen from 31 to 23%.
The GDP, on the other hand, another indicator closely followed by analysts, has increased by nearly 2% per year over the past 20 years. Europeans have invented a kind of “convergence machine”: when they enter the European Union, the poorest states strengthen their economic weight and catch up with the richer ones through regional trade.
Another myth is that the governments of European states, whose model is based on social protection, spend about 10% more of their GDP compared to states outside the EU.
It is also a fact that European countries are today much more advanced than in the past. The French, for example, work 9 years less in their lives than in the 1960s and have gained 6 years in life expectancy. What to choose?
Of course, there is the flip side, which requires people to be disciplined not to abuse the system in order to maintain it.
We have already seen in the past (Germany on the occasion of its reunification, for example) that it was possible to overcome a crisis.
To do this, a vision is needed, as well as the ability to implement a long-term policy focused on solidarity.
To explain the concept, we use a metaphor, that of a ship on which we are all traveling together towards the same destination and in which all could potentially sink.
In the past, this metaphor was invoked, in reference to European civilization, by Søren Kierkegaard, who said that normally on board a ship, there is a captain and a cook. The captain is on the deck and the cook in the kitchen.
In these times – according to Kierkegaard’s words – the cook has taken the lead and is giving orders, which is why we know what we will eat tomorrow, but we have no idea in which direction we are navigating.
In conclusion, is it too much to show optimism? Sure, it’s raining outside, but there are raincoats and, in this case, umbrellas!
