Sir,

Europe definitely faces a huge challenge, not just with the EU's stalled constitutional treaty but also with the unsatisfactory lack of progress on future financing of the Union . Both confront us with a single question – what should the EU do next?

 

We find ourselves facing a political wall that may be daunting, but not insurmountable. By identifying the underlying causes of peoples' discontent we can find mechanisms to overcome these stalemates. By responding to the actual needs of European citizens we can renew the credibility of the European project.

 

Gianni Bonvicini rightly emphasised in his article that public discontent is a consequence of Europe's poor economic performance and the increasing social vulnerability of its people. Not only is economic growth in Europe lower than in the United States or Japan, but employment is also lagging behind. Economic and social insecurity of people has been further aggravated by myths about “social dumping” provoked by the EU's new member states.

 

We should not allow opinion-formers to go on cultivating these myths. The new member states need workers as much as the old ones. We need to develop our industries and infrastructures as much as the rest of Europe. We face the same challenges of welfare delivery and distribution as governments elsewhere. Globalisation and ageing are twin pressures on our economies and welfare systems too, and they are the policy areas that should be receiving our attention.

 

Instead of allowing such prejudices to fragment us, we should be working more closely together. The EU should be consolidating its efforts to meet these challenges, which are themselves the result of increased capital mobility in the world, the global integration of markets for products and financial services, the increased spread of high technologies and the ageing of Europe's population. To keep both businesses and people here in Europe we must make the EU a more attractive place to invest and work.

 

The immediate task, as Bonvicini also pointed out, is to increase the competitiveness of the European economy. Not only should the Lisbon agenda be revamped and the euro “saved”, but also measures that are already enshrined in EU treaties, should be implemented. To compete effectively in the world – in the face of growing pressure from the emerging economies of Asia - the European single market must be consolidated. Everyone in the EU should have an equal chance to work and to prosper, and that means we must hasten to complete the internal market with its four fundamental freedoms. Bureaucratic obstacles that unnecessarily hamper small and medium-sized enterprises should be removed, and the European Commission should act to release the European economy's tall potential rather than overburdening it with unnecessary regulation.

 

A dynamic and economically strong Europe will be able to make its voice heard around the world. We cannot duck the need to strengthen the political dimension of the European Union just because the challenges we face today are increasingly trans-national. Immigration, terrorism and organised crime, military conflicts outside Europe, drug trafficking, climate change – no member state can withstand these challenges alone.

 

This brings me back to the need for an efficient EU institutional framework. Gianni Bonvicini pointed out that some features of the Constitution have already been revived “through the backdoor” – for example, the European Defence Agency. The constitutional treaty did indeed provide important elements of a more efficient political Europe. It not only suggested a more effective decision-making process within the enlarged European Union, but provided the tools for better coordinated external actions. So while we are probably stuck for a while with its failed ratification, we should be considering creative ways to move forward on those elements of the Constitution that in fact don't require ratification. The European External Action Service would be one area, and introduction of the so-called group presidencies would be another.

 

 We shouldn't exaggerate our present difficulties, and clearly there are issues that need to be clarified and addressed, but it is premature to talk about Europe being in “deep crisis”. Europe has faced such issues before, and has always found the answer. What we need is a constructive dialogue leading to a new consensus over the form and the content of the European project.