The Canadian path... in European self-determination
The Clarity Act, passed by the Canadian federal Parliament in 2000, which granted Quebec a constitutional path to self-determination, was repeatedly invoked during the Catalan independence process as an alternative solution to the impasse we faced. Similarly, the speech by Canadian Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Davos meeting a month ago is opening a solid path toward what should be European self-determination to break free from the new framework of multipolar imbalance being established by the United States and China, with the indispensable collaboration of Russia.
In short, Carney was appealing to what he calls "middle powers" in Davos—clearly including the European Union with Canada, India, Latin America, and perhaps the tigers Asians—to accept that the old international order will not return and that it is necessary to reaffirm sovereignty by resisting the overwhelming will of dependence of the great powers. It proposes remaining faithful to our principles—human rights, pluralism, peace, the rule of law—but with the pragmatism of collaboration and agreements that make us stronger and more respected.
It would involve implementing "grand policies" to compensate for ceasing to be "great powers," building something better and fairer that will contrast with the "will of the strong" in the disappearance of the norms we once knew. Carney mentioned the story of the greengrocer in Václav Havel's essay who, every morning, put up a sign in his shop that read "Workers of all countries, unite" to avoid being noticed and to prevent problems with the totalitarian communist government. Havel spoke of "living by a lie." The regime's power was based on acting as if the slogan were true. When the fruit vendor decides to take down his sign, others follow suit, the falsehood crumbles, and with it, the regime. Now, Carney continues, we must remove the signs that bind us to an international order that no longer exists.
Europe, perhaps with the exception of the response to the American plans regarding Greenland, where the European position—with the support of the NATO Secretary General—was clear and strategically decisive, has thus far maintained a disunity that has oscillated between shameful submission to Trump and utter bewilderment.
It has had to be the Canadian head of government—and not a European leader—who makes the most concrete and inspiring call for a change of attitude essential for our survival, our strengthening, and our active participation in a new order that integrates our values and perspectives. A truly new Canadian path for a European resurgence and for the self-determination of the continent.
In fact, Carney's proposal or call is fully aligned with the proposals presented in the Letta, Draghi, and Noyer reports, published in 2014, before Trump's second inauguration, which have been implemented only timidly and insufficiently. Like the signatories of the European reports, Carney reminds us that generating a pool Investment resources stemming from the continent's abundant savings have become an essential objective of strategic autonomy.
Canada, unlike Europe, has a large energy surplus, critical materials (some already in production), and pension funds, which generate investment potential both domestically and globally and complement the strong public financial capacity of the solvent federal government.
In Europe, much remains to be done, but we have other advantages: a very large, albeit somewhat stagnant, economy, and above all, the potential strength of the EU's 450 million citizens—or even the more than 350 million in the Eurozone. We Europeans have over 10 trillion euros sitting idle in non-interest-bearing bank accounts and deposits, which could—at least partially, if converted into investment—revitalize the European economy toward greater competitiveness and closer integration, placing us in a position of strength in the new international order.
Europe needs to preserve its sovereignty if it wants to be self-determining, and that requires funding. Only in this way, returning to Carney's central argument, can we maintain and strengthen what is called "agency capacity." That is, the effective autonomy of decision-making that implies the capacity to influence and define our own policies, without being forced to adapt to global forces that will now be dictated by the great powers, and not precisely by consensus.
