A Second Chance for Europe: Economic, Political and Legal Perspectives of the European Union PDF
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Jo Ritzen Editor A Second Chance for Europe Economic, Political and Legal Perspectives of the European Union A Second Chance for Europe Jo Ritzen Editor A Second Chance for Europe Economic, Political and Legal Perspectives of the European Union Editor JoRitzen UNU-Merit/GraduateSchoolofGovernance MaastrichtUniversity Maastricht,TheNetherlands ISBN978-3-319-57722-7 ISBN978-3-319-57723-4 (eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-57723-4 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017941006 #SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinor for anyerrors oromissionsthat may havebeenmade. Thepublisher remainsneutralwith regardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Preface This book was inspired by the “Vibrant Europe Forum 2012”, where a group of radicalsbegancallingforabetterpolitical,socialandevenpsychologicalenviron- mentforallEuropeans.WewantedtheEUtohelpensureabrighterfutureforall: youngandold,richandpoor.Backthen,itseemedmorethanpossible.Putsimply, thefuturewasbright. Fiveyearsonandtheclimatehaschangeddramatically.Thecloudsarepacked and a storm is brewing. There has been a clear rise in anti-EU sentiment, culminating in “Brexit” in 2016, and more trials are on the horizon. Meanwhile, IS/DaeshatrocitiesontheEuropeanmainlanddemonstratedadeephatredfor“our” lifestyleandvalues. A massive flow of refugees challenged the security of our external borders, as wellastheopennessofourinternalfrontiers.OutsidetheEU,Putinconqueredthe Crimea, Erdogan had a putsch within a putsch and the Syrian war continued unabated, whileIS/Daeshkilledwantonlyjust250kmfromoursouthernborders. AndtheelectionofDonaldTrumptotheUSPresidencycreatedanewawareness: thatEurope’ssecurityguaranteemaynotbecastironandmaynotlastforever. ThisbookstartedbylookingfornewideastomakeEuropeanevenbetterplace tolive,viabettercoordinationandcooperation.Sincethen,ithasmorphedintoan urgentcalltoaction:tostaveoffapotentialcatastrophe.Itwaswrittenforallthose concernedaboutthefuture,includingthefutureoftheirchildrenandgrandchildren, inaEuropecommittedtothevaluesofhumandignityandequalrightsforall,along with security and well-being. We target an audience of well-educated ordinary citizens—certainly not just European specialists. These specialists are cited to achieve the necessary depth, but we generally avoid technical language and legalese. Thisbookisdedicatedtomygrandchildren:toHannah,Yco,Marijn,Arne,Jelle, Robin, Jara, Torben and Meri. They are the future incarnate, a generation that should enjoy the same benefits that I have enjoyed throughout a long and fruitful life. Benefits large and small, both everyday and extraordinary, tangible and intangible,areonlypossiblethankstostrongEuropeanpartnerships. WeconsiderexpertevidenceontheEU,intermsofwhereitstandsandhowit may evolve in many important areas like education, employment, finance, migra- tion, sustainability and trust in EU decision-making. We also look at the “bigger v vi Preface picture”: how European cooperation can improve our lives and those of future generations,andhowthiscooperationcanbemouldedandsetintoEUstructures. In the process it has been a privilege to work with several eminent scholars. I wrote chapters “Halting Support for the EU” and “A Vibrant European Model” with Klaus F. Zimmermann, a man who stands tall in labour market research and has a keen eye for evidence-based policy. Martin Kahanec, co-author of chapters “EU Mobility” and “A Sustainable Immigration Policy for the EU”, has built an impressivecareerandreputationinmigrationresearchandisequallydedicatedto evidence-based policymaking. Annemarie Neeleman and Pedro Teixeira are also researchers on evidence-based policymaking in (higher) education. Last but not least,HowardHudsonwasinstrumentalingettingthetextintopresentableEnglish. Thisbookisthefruitofmanyeminentpeople,bothyoungandold,fromvarious walks of life. Yet, its tone is very much drawn from a university setting. This is undeniable. Nonetheless, many politicians were involved indiscussing ideas. The business community was also included in the forums and activities. The authors werethe“scribes”,whoaloneareresponsibleforthisbook. Twoorganisationswerehometothescribes:MaastrichtUniversityinthedeep south of the Netherlands and the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) in Bonn, Germany.Theydeserveallpossiblegratitudefortheirrolesinfosteringthisbook. Additionally, the Rockefeller Bellagio Center inItaly provided a temporary sanc- tuary—a stay that gave a substantial push to the project, after the Vaeshartelt Declaration, signed on 23 March 2012 at the above-mentioned Vibrant Europe Forum. The extremely able Secretary-General of this forum was Arian Meyer, withoutwhomitwouldneverhavegottenofftheground. InJuly2013,theIZAhostedasecondworkshopinBonn,callingfor“AEuropean Labor Market with Full Employment, More Income Security and Less Income Inequality in 2020”. The participants and contributors to that workshop have very muchlefttheirmarkonthisbook.Manydiscussionshavefollowedwithleadersfrom thebusinesscommunity,thepoliticalarenaandacademiasincethatevent. Early readings of this book have shown substantial agreement on the analysis. Basedonthisreading,nowisthetimetoforgeanewstrategyforEurope,withone clear aim: to shore up the EU. Only the EU, taking the right path, can ensure a brighter political, social and psychological environment for all Europeans: young andold,richandpoor. Bunde,theNetherlands JoRitzen 12March2017 Contents EuropeanCitizensatRisk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 JoRitzen HaltingSupportfortheEU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 JoRitzenandKlausF.Zimmermann AVibrantEuropeanModel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 JoRitzenandKlausF.Zimmermann InEuropeWeTrust. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 JoRitzen EUMobility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 JoRitzenandMartinKahanec ASustainableImmigrationPolicyfortheEU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 JoRitzenandMartinKahanec ASustainableEurozonewithExitOptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 JoRitzen EuropeanIdentityandtheLearningUnion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 JoRitzen,AnnemarieNeeleman,andPedroTeixeira ForwardtoaSecondChanceforEurope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 JoRitzen vii European Citizens at Risk Jo Ritzen Abstract Turmoil is sweeping across the European Union (EU). The political elite are feeling the pressure—but what of the man and woman in the street? Do they wanttheEUtocollapse?Andifthathappens,willEuropereallybebetteroff? The EU is crumbling partly because of declining growth in security and welfare resulting from the Great Recession of the period 2007–2014, partly because of the havoc in employment due to mechanization and robotisation, partly because of an inadequate structure. This happens at a time when Europeans should expect “secular stagnation”, i.e. lower economic growth thantheyareusedtointherecentpast(e.g.theperiod1980s–2008). Border regions have most to fear from a crumbling EU, because a re-instatement ofimpedimentsoncross-bordertrafficwouldworsentheirloca- tionalattractiveness.Newimpedimentsthatmightresultfromacrumblingofthe EUwouldhaveseriousnegativeeffectsfirstandforemostfortheborderregions. ThehaltingsupportfortheEUstandsinstarkcontrasttothepotentialbenefits tobegainedfromreinforcingEuropeancooperation,asothermajorpowersseek to improve their political and economic positions. This is likely to weaken the standing of individual European countries; yet, under the right leadership, a strongandcohesiveEUcanstillstandtallintheworld:withandforitsmembers. The leadership of the EU is well aware of the dangers of declining EU cohesion, but seems unable to act. Reinforcement of EU cohesion ought to address the challenges posed towards that cohesion in the EU. We focus here on the challenges to EU economic organisation, to political and democratic J.Ritzen(*) Kloosterweg54,6241GBBunde,TheNetherlands e-mail:[email protected] #SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017 1 J.Ritzen(ed.),ASecondChanceforEurope,DOI10.1007/978-3-319-57723-4_1 2 J.Ritzen organisation, to demographic organisation from the migration perspective, to monetaryorganisation(it’stheEuro,stupid)andtheorganisationofcommuni- cation(thelanguageBabylonoftheEU). Contents 1 EuropeanCitizensatRisk.................................................................... 2 2 AFuturewithLessGrowth.................................................................. 9 3 Europeofthe(Border)Regions.............................................................. 12 4 AVibrantEuropeIsPossible................................................................ 12 5 TheFivePresidentsAreStuck............................................................... 14 6 ChallengeandResponse:AGuideThroughtheBook...................................... 15 References........................................................................................ 24 1 European Citizens at Risk Toputitsimply,themanandwomaninthestreetareinjeopardy.Thereareserious problems within and between EU member states, threatening the very fabric, the unitedfront—thecohesion—oftheEUasawhole.Thisputscitizensatriskbecause theyhavesomuchtogainfromcohesion,whileotherworldpowerssimplyjostle for power and influence, as they have done for centuries. Ultimately, this may diminish or cancel out the economic, political and democratic achievements of Europe. TheinternalchallengestocohesionamongEuropeancountrieswefocushereon are: – The inadequacy of the European model to deal with the fallout from globalisation; – Theside-steppingfromessentialdemocraticvaluesinsomeEUcountries; – Migration both within the EU and from outside the EU with insufficient integration; – The unsustainability of the monetary union (the Euro) in which 19 of the 28memberstatesparticipate; – TheEuropeanlanguageBabylon,wherebytheaverageEuropeanofonecountry isbarelyabletocommunicatewithanotherforeignnational. Eachandeveryoneofthesechallengescouldbeareasonforaspiraldownward intrustofcitizens,bothinthepoliticsoftheirowncountry,butalsooftheEU.The challengesareconfusing,leadingtouncertainty,frustrationandanger.Citizensfeel in2017farmoreinsecureabouttheirinternationalenvironmentthanin2007.They look for clarification of their confusion, for the release of their anger, for the illumination of their uncertainty and for more security towards more national decision-making, more inward-turning and less cooperation between European countries. Perhaps that is the logical response. However, the lessons of history EuropeanCitizensatRisk 3 tell us that this is not a viable road for betterment. Rather it will lead to “Verelendung”1,tostrifeandinjustice.Unitedwestand,dividedwefall. Solutions for problems within and between countries have always only been achievedthroughcooperation.Ourpitch,then,isthatEuropeancitizensneedmore andnotlesscooperationbetweenEuropeancountries.Notinthena¨ıvewaysofthe past,butinaEuropeanpartnershipwithrightsanddutiesandwithoutthefrillsofan empire ruled by and profiting a new aristocracy. With strict borders around European countries that want to work together, which are jointly applied and protected, to provide security for the welfare and values of the citizens of the countries. It may mean cooperation among fewer countries, but it may also be expandedtonewcountriesthatwanttocommitthemselvestocommonstandards. CooperationwithintheEUwassosuccessfuluntil2008.Butitisnowindanger, aswewillfurtherexploreinthisbook.Mostofthechallengesmentionedaboveare the result of the construction of the EU—its basic architecture. This is based on solidarity and the willingness of EU countries to follow the common good, the common values and the common aims with little or no restraint on nation-centric behaviour (or moral hazard). This has often led countries to pursue their self- interest even if it would be harmful to the common good. The framework of the EUneedsimprovement,needsmaturity,needsasecondchance. Moreandmorecitizens areturningtheir backs onEurope.Theysee theEU as theproblemratherthanthesolutionthatitwasmeanttobe(andindeed,shouldbe). InsurveysandpollstheyexpresstheirdesiretoleavetheEU.Theyearsfrom2008 to2016willgodowninhistoryasaperiodofrapidlyrisingcrisisfortheunion,with the UK’s “Brexit” marking a dramatic turning point. We were accustomed to an ever-expandingEU.Thenin2016oneofthelargercountriesandinmanyrespects oneoftheleadersineconomic,politicalandculturalthinking,theUK,decidedto breakaway. Therearesomereasonstocomparetheconfusion,angeranduncertaintyinthe Europeanairinearly2017withthefogsthatdriftedovertheEuropeancontinentin the late 1920s, following the previous great crisis (even though historical comparisons always have severe limitations). For example: there are no “brownshirts” orstormtroopers marching through European streets. The optimists amongusmightsaythatwhatweareexperiencingin2016and2017ismorelikely tobeatemporary changeinthepoliticalclimate,inmany respects comparableto thatinthelate1960sandearly 1970s(Koenis2015).Backthen,inthe1960sand 1970s, it was marked by the critical attitude of young, leftist groups towards the elite(whichdidnotfeeltheneedtobeaccountable).In2016and2017itismarked by the anger of the “white male” against (once again) the new, but this time 1Literally:immiseration.Theterm,advancedbyKarlMarx,referstothealienationoftheworkers tosocietyasaresultofreducedwagegrowthrelativetototalvaluecreationintheeconomyandthe increasinginequalityinwealthtowardsasmallgroupofsuper-capitalists.
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