A few days ago, Odile Menozzi, the very active president of the European Movement 06, proposed to us… Europe at the beach.
More precisely, it was at the Lido beach that she invited us for a conference by the European Parliament member Françoise Grossetête (PR).
The session was very interesting, with a large and informed audience, allowing us to learn that the EU budget will be voted on in advance to limit the damage in the event of a (likely) surge in populist votes in the 2019 elections. This is called pragmatism, and it suits me just fine, even if some may be offended by these rough methods inflicted on the friendly Italian Northern League and the little Nazis of Central Europe.
A budget which, with consistent volume (a ridiculously low budget as it is less than that of France’s), will fortunately be reoriented. The very significant financial volume (70% of the total) of agricultural and regional development policies will be reduced, even if France will suffer from the first cut and the Eastern countries from the second (but what have they done with these aids?).
Indeed, a real Defense budget will be established to respond to the uncertainties of the Trump era (Françoise Grossetête is its rapporteur). And a significant amount will be dedicated to digital development. This is a very positive double reorientation.
The entry into the European Union of the southern Balkan countries (Macedonia, Albania) is also mentioned, probably followed by Montenegro and, after political agreement, Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. This is another very good news, as the EU has a moral duty to integrate these countries of the former Yugoslavia. Indeed, if it had made post-Tito Yugoslavia a full-fledged member, Europe would have played its role as a buffer and prevented (as it did in the Baltic States) a civil war and tens of thousands of casualties.
In short, to return to the beginning of this post, we can say that the conference and the ensuing debate indeed reflected the participants’ love for the beach… but that of Europe.
Patrick Mottard
