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“I believe that Europe’s World will
play a valuable and important role”
Josep Borrell |
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The years since the first elections to the European Parliament in June 1979 have seen the EU’s democratic “heart” grow in stature. As the only directly elected body amongst the EU institutions, the European Parliament passes the majority of European laws in partnership with the Council of Ministers, which represents national governments. These laws have a direct impact on the lives of Europe’s citizens, so it is essential that the 732 members of the Parliament should be as fully-informed as possible when taking decisions that help determine the well-being of society. Yet recent opinion polls, and also the results of a number of national referenda on the EU constitutional treaty, have shown there is a need for better and more regular debate on the challenges facing the European Union.
I believe that Europe’s World will play a valuable and an important role in tackling these issues. I wish it every success in its aim of promoting high-quality debate between Europe’s different stakeholders, in business, in civil society, in government and amongst the elected political representatives of Europe’s voters.
Josep Borrell Fontelles - President of the European Parliament |
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“The pages of Europe’s World are
open to all shades of opinion”
José Manuel Barroso |
Brussels is not Europe, and the discussions that take place there between EU specialists - be they diplomats, eurocrats, business people, NGO leaders or even elected politicians - do not constitute a European debate. Creating such a debate, in which the people of Europe can speak and listen to one another, is perhaps the greatest challenge still to face us after almost half a century of political and economic integration.
I welcome and warmly applaud the way that Europe’s World is responding to that challenge. The aim of this new journal is to become a pan-European platform for the exchange of ideas and insights. It is an independent project in which the Brusselsbased think tank Friends of Europe has linked up with some 40 counterparts in the EU and elsewhere in Europe to create a network for policy analysis and discussion.
The pages of Europe’s World, I’m assured by its editors, are open to all shades of opinion on where Europe’s future should lie. I wish the new journal well and hope that it succeeds in its ambition of furthering understanding, identifying key issues and widening consensus on the most effective policy solutions.
José Manuel Barroso- President of the European Commission |
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“Europe’s World meets
a serious need in the EU”
Javier Solana |
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I am delighted that Friends of Europe has taken the initiative of launching a new policy journal for Europe. Europe’s World meets a serious need in the EU by creating a common platform for new policy thinking and debate. Now more than ever, we must transcend national prisms, challenge conventional wisdom and build common ground. While we Europeans certainly debate a lot, most of our discussions take place within national circles. They are also too often the preserve of technical experts or a handful of Brussels insiders. We lack a common European public space - an intellectual agora - and we do so at a time when the case for Europe is being contested and needs re-stating.
Fifty years after the start of our great European journey, there is much we can be proud of. But there is even more work still to be done. Europe is in search of a new consensus: on the EU’s purpose and direction; on the structures, reforms and budget it needs; and on how we can re-gain people’s trust and confidence. As a convinced European and an eternal optimist, I believe that not only can we forge this new consensus but that we have no choice. To do so, however, we need a pan- European debate. Europe’s World can play a central role in this strategic debate on the EU’s future; by bringing together Europe’s most creative minds, by providing fresh thinking on the key challenges facing the EU, and by helping to forge an ambitious agenda for a pro-active Europe that will assert itself on the global stage.
Javier Solana- Secretary-General of the Council of the EU and High Representative for the Common Foreign & Security Policy.
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