The European ideal is rooted in the sharing of sovereignty. Sharing sovereignty, I believe, needs a couple of key ingredients: consent, cooperation, and compromise. Our strength and our power is in our togetherness. And we can only advance where we have commonality.
The politics of economic policy in Europe
The economics of Europe in terms of size and clout on a global stage and critically the Single Market are evident. Yes, it is essential for supporting investment and innovation, and necessary for economic stability and growth. But why should we care about the politics of economic policy.
The response to that question is delivered at the ballot box – and we are bearing witness to a time of political tectonic shifts that have implications for party structures and manifestos across the world. This is particularly pertinent for the collective governance of the Economic and Monetary Union and the euro – a 'currency without a state'.
I believe we must always make the political case for Europe and the political case for multilateralism. This, for me, is the essence of the politics of economic policy.
The Union is all of our futures. And Europe is a Union of possibility and of opportunity. But neither economics nor raw power will in and of themselves, in the long run, drive deeper integration and greater prosperity for Europe’s citizens.
The European ideal is rooted in the sharing of sovereignty. Sharing sovereignty, I believe, needs a couple of key ingredients: consent, cooperation, and compromise. Our strength and our power is in our togetherness. And we can only advance where we have commonality.
Turning first to consent, this is the ‘year of elections’ and a year of institutional renewal for governments in many Member States, for the European institutions, and around the world.
Yes, this can lead to turbulence and some institutional upheaval, but it is the most powerful expression of consent to govern that we have. It is always worth remembering that we operate economies inside democracies. Not the other way around.
In addition to consent, elections most clearly offer the opportunity for politicians to outline how politics can respond to the many challenges we face today and the needs of citizens. But for politics to respond effectively, particularly in Europe, we need our second ingredient – cooperation.
Let me explain.
From where I sit, some of the major economic challenges; including climate, digital and regrettably defence, are enormous.
And the politics of this are complex and at times diffuse....
more at Eurogroup
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