We All are Europe - AESAEC

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2009, 101). In spite of this, Europe is believed to be “a wonderfully successful and globally admired project, though too often it is regarded merely as a project and rarely as an outcome” (Marcel Gauchet, idem), although in fact the results and outcomes are many, just as the aims of the European Union are manifold. It is with this understanding that this AESAEC manual is designed to make readers, and particularly you, senior European citizens, familiar with how and what has been achieved within EU, and what the results and outcomes have been, primarily in the areas that directly concern you. As planned, the EU has become a framework for numerous enriching cultural, social, economic and other transactions among its member states. It established a common currency and it has provided for common security. Nevertheless, it has also failed several times and in several ways. Thus, Jacques Delors, Marcel Gauchet, Cohn Bendit and others are convinced that Europe has failed in imposing itself as a political force and it has failed in imposing itself in the processes of globalisation. Moreover, member states do not truly understand that “union is a force” and that union means community, giving, as well as ensuring receiving. In order to receive member states should more willingly give up a part of their power. 2 Nevertheless, in times of economic, financial, political and social crisis, the EU is believed to have a new chance, that is, the chance to tackle, democratically, issues of common and global interest, such as environmental issues, reversing the global trend of the market economy (Habermas, 2009, p.105) and demographic changes. These issues cannot be tackled in isolation, but on the contrary, they should become subject to large-scale public debate and real civil dialogue (Jacques Delors, idem). Nowadays most European institutions and advisory bodies (European Commission, European Parliament, European Economic and Social Council) act accordingly. “The development of a European wide political public sphere - that is of a communicative network extending beyond the national borders and specialising in the relevant questions - is of central importance to the emergence of the European identity, says Habermas (2009, p.87). It is time for Europe and its institutions to become an agora, a truly deliberative space, including the representatives of all its citizens. Members of the AESAEC project firmly believe that older citizens should be more present in the shaping of European policies and in the decision making processes pertaining to them and their cooperation with other generations. The endeavours of the AESAEC project are consistent with Jaques Delors’ argument that in the future, “the European dynamics will be much more dependent on the contribution of the European citizens than on the European institutions”. (Jacques Delors, idem). For this purpose it is most important that European citizens, including senior citizens, increase their knowledge about the European Union, its institutions and its achievements. How theories of integration help us to understand the nature and the aims of the European Union. Some prominent integration theories: In 1920 federalists argued that European countries should form a natural entity and that they should never again enter into an inter-European war. Altiero Spinelli declared that the nation states have lost their raison d’etre... Functionalists, like David Mitrany, rightly pointed out that international organisations are meant to address priorities dictated by human needs and therefore such organisations should modify their tasks and functions according to the needs of the moment. Such orientation is consistent with the fact that the European Union has become so interested in old age, older people and older workers. Ageing represents a large demographic change which requires changes in the relationships between generations and also demands a different cultural model or organisation of ages. In addition to this, new policies are needed. The Transactionalist Theory, supported by Karl Deutsch, asserts that the sense of community among states would depend on the establishment of a network for mutual transactions. Networks can be seen everywhere. Framework programmes and structural funds are there to support networking, 32 2 German citizens were at one time against the Euro, but Helmut Kohl persuaded them that the Euro was good for everybody in Europe, and consequently they accepted it.
Module 1 – The European Union and its Relevance for Senior Citizens projects, etc. Have you ever heard of Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig, Erasmus, Comenius and other programmes They offer frameworks within which European projects as well as transactions and mutual cultural, social, economic and political exchange and mutual recognition are possible. The Nonfictional Theory, developed by Ernst Haas and Jean Monet, involves common action leading to a cohesive society. Robert Schumann said on 9 May 1950: “Europe will be built by concrete achievements which create a de facto solidarity”. Economic integration was intended to gradually build solidarity amongst the participating nations and would in turn create a need for supranational institutional laws. Later on this would lead to the need for an effective supranational structure. This theory makes us think of the “customary law” that was often created spontaneously and applied in the development of towns. Laws were not imposed on the inhabitants; rather they were a codification of the generally accepted ways of living together in a town. The integration processes step by step If we wanted to give more sense to Europe, we should first ask ourselves what Europe has become over the four stages of its integration: Customs Union, Common Market, Economic and Monetary Union and Towards Political Union. In fact, in order to understand the European Union, we should not forget its past. Europe was established under much different conditions than exist today; the Europe of six member states in the early 1950s and the Europe of 27 member states in 2009 are two completely different entities. The construction of modern Europe began after the Second World War. In 1945 Winston Churchill described Europe as “a breeding ground for pestilence and hate” and a year later, as a remedy to this state, he proposed to “recreate the European family and to provide it with a structure within which it can dwell in peace, safety and freedom.” Safety and freedom were the reasons why the EU was created. The successful formula was the integration of the former antagonistic nation states into a union of peacefully interacting and competing nations. In his famous appeal, Robert Schuman recognised that only a lasting reconciliation with Germany could form the basis for a united Europe and he pleaded that Europe should pardon Germany, though not forget what had taken place, which at that time was a difficult thing to ask for. The process of European integration has been ongoing since 1950 based on the construction method taught by Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman; building Europe brick by brick, with each step being taken after careful evaluation. Jean Monnet contributed to the creation of the binding formula. This formula consists of creating numerous links between the nation states; common laws, policies and institutions, common European method governing the member states’ economic activities that then should influence the day to day lives of European citizens. Robert Schumann At the beginning the objective was for the EU to become a political structure. However this intention has failed and instead of being a strong political force Europe has became more interested in its economic power. (Jacques Delores, Les Controversies du progrès, 26 th June, 2009, France Culture.) To join the European Union, a state must fulfil certain economic and political conditions, called the Copenhagen Criteria (after the Copenhagen Summit in June 1993). These state that a candidate country must be a democracy, it should have a free market and should be willing to adopt the entire body of laws that the European Union has already adopted. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. 33
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