Without a common fiscal and economic policy, the EU will not be able to return to stability in the near future, said world renowned German philosopher Juergen Habermas in Athens this week. He said the process of European unification will be complete when a balance has been restored between politics and the market.
Speaking to a packed lecture hall at the University of Athens within the framework of the 23rd World Congress of Philosophy, the 84-year-old analysed the European crisis from the perspective of the lack of political solidarity. The three elements of every democratic system, he said, were “the people, as carrier of political will; the state as an organisation that gives the people the possibility to act collectively; and the legally formed society of citizens as a voluntary union of free and equal individuals”.
In a supranational democracy like the European Union, he explained, citizens can acquire a double role – as members of a future union and as members of the states belonging to this union. But the European crisis has proven that the path to a supranational democracy is fraught with difficulties.
“Without a common fiscal and economic policy that will be further extended into other spheres, such as the tax system and social policy, the EU will not be able to return to stability in the near future,” Habermas noted. “In the long term, lending to over-indebted countries will not be enough to strengthen their competitiveness,” he continued.
Instead of expanding democracy and changing how it operated, the EU was becoming more a technocracy in which member states participated without involvement from their respective citizens.
Criticising the German government, Habermas said under its guidance, the EU has prioritised the fiscal balance of each member state over anything else in resolving the crisis.
“To countries hit by the crisis,” he said, “this policy affects the systems of social insurance, public services and collective goods. Therefore, the least privileged strata of society are called on to shoulder the greatest price.” Habermas said political solidarity was required to resolve the crisis. He criticised the bloc’s powerful members for avoiding explaining to their citizens that without this solidarity, development and competitiveness will not be strengthened in the eurozone.
“This stance indicates political cowardice, if not pure opportunism, at a time when Europe is facing a challenge of immense proportions,” he concluded.
Source: EnetEnglish,
ANA-MPA