27 June 2016

CEPS: Estrangement Day: The implications of Brexit for the EU

The heads of state or government would be well advised to enter a period of reflection to forge political consensus around the aims and contours of the yet unscheduled future EU treaty reform. Any next move should be designed to create a greater sense of ownership of EU citizens in 'their' Union.

With a constitutional referendum in Italy this autumn, presidential elections in April/May 2017 in France and federal elections in Germany later next year, the pro-EU parties representing the political mainstream should heed the strong warning sent by the relative success of the Leave campaign in the UK referendum: if they do not wish to lose the next national elections then they cannot afford to skirt around the public’s disenfranchisement with the EU any longer.

If there is anything to be learnt from the Brexit outcome of the UK referendum, then it is the monumental failure of the British government to counter lies spread by the tabloid press and cynical politicians, and to communicate the benefits of working through the European Union.

Not drawing any conclusions from the multi-stakeholder exercise it carried out in the context of the Balance of Competences Review, was, in hindsight, a mistake of colossal proportions. Even the much-revered BBC fell short in its public service duty to categorically debunk the propaganda of the Leave campaign: in upholding its neutral, even-handed stance it left the public to choose between two campaigns of seemingly equal merit.

Obviously, the European Commission, which respected the plea by the British government not to interfere in the referendum campaign, has a key role to play too, especially by assisting member state governments in terms of fact-checking and debunking propagandist myths about the EU. But more is needed.

A post-referendum consensus on Europe’s future should create a buy-in for European citizens into the ‘community of law’. Injecting a sincere sense of modesty and realism that does not create illusions about what the EU and member states governments can actually still achieve in a highly interconnected world would be a good starting point. There is considerable longing for a new narrative for the European Union. But what is so wrong with the old one, some may ask?

Peace and prosperity in the EU are not a given, as the consequences of the Greek debt crisis and the war in Ukraine have taught us. Perhaps the original symbolism could be complemented, however, with a more utilitarian approach to explaining the value added and force-multiplying effects of working through the European Union: from generating cheaper air travel to slashing roaming charges, creating study opportunities abroad, assuring the quality of bathing water at European tourist destinations and providing protection to the consumption of imported goods.

Arguably, such an explainer should go hand-in-hand with an emphasis on taking the subsidiarity principle seriously: indeed, the EU should concentrate on the issues where there is a clear common interest for supranational action. In short, there is a positive case to be made for the EU. As former Prime Minister Gordon Brown observed prior to the referendum: “Positive arguments are the sharpest arrows in the quiver of those who want Britain to remain in Europe. Meeting the needs and aspirations of the British people in the twenty-first century requires us to let go of the past, acknowledge that the present is defined by globalization, and recognize that the future is filled with opportunity. Our increased interdependence suggests the need for greater international cooperation and coordination, and that is precisely what the EU offers.”

The EU is not a zero-sum game but the framework for creating win-win solutions for all its members. That would mean in the first place to change the rhetoric from contest to commonality: “Brussels is us”, as the late Robin Cook so acutely observed. Member state governments should stop scapegoating the EU for the deficiencies of the compromise solutions they make collectively. Similarly, one might consider that all heads of state or government hold a post-summit press conference to defend the conclusions adopted. It is the responsibility of member states to thwart the perception that they do not ‘own’ the decisions; with greater intergovernmentalism, they in fact own more. Before returning to business as usual, let alone leaping into new integrationist adventures, political elites across the continent should wait and listen.

Full article on CEPS

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