Carme Colomina: "The European Union is scared, it feels vulnerable and weak"

BrusselsThe journalist and Cidob researcher Carme Colomina has just published Europe is a state of mind (Ara Llibres). The former correspondent in Brussels and collaborator of ARA analyzes the current state of the European project and the challenges it faces, and offers clues on how to overcome them.

What is the state of mind of the European Union?

— She is scared, she feels vulnerable and weak. Everything she believed in and that reaffirmed her is in question: the major political families, especially the social democrats – who agreed on European construction – and the post-World War II order. Furthermore, her traditional ally, the United States, despises and humiliates her. The world is no longer Eurocentric. Even the principles and values with which she defined herself are in doubt.

Why does he/she/it state that Europe is not adapting to the current world?

— There are various factors, both external and internal. The world has changed and demographically we Europeans are a little more irrelevant. In 1990 we were 25% of the planet's inhabitants, now we are 6% and soon 4%. There is also a rebalancing of powers, there are new international actors and the EU has lost geopolitical influence capacity.

And what are the internal factors?

— The EU has more and more member states and also has many different positions. Nor is there a shared vision of always moving towards greater political integration. This enters into crisis with Brexit, and consensus is broken. Despite this, and the growth of the far-right, now no one wants to leave the EU, but rather wants to take control of European institutions. The far-right is already achieving this. It has been seen with the migratory reform.

How can Europe regain optimism?

— Europe is not doing so badly and should realize it. It is not aware of what it has positive and what it contributes to the world. For me, however, it has not yet understood its role, and it must relearn how to navigate this world. It is in a process of rearmament and towards something that I don't know if Europe will ever become, while it often despises what makes it different. For example, it is a reliable and much-coveted commercial actor, and it was a project of wealth redistribution. What I demand is that Europe start believing in itself again. We must be Europe and not try to be something else.

The book states that the first to disbelieve seem to be the leaders themselves.

— They must trust more in the power of Europe. This is where it is seen that Europe is scared. There is a very important part of the EU that is convinced that it cannot cope without the security umbrella of the United States and that, therefore, if a certain degree of humiliation must be endured, it must be tolerated. And this is where I think they are mistaken. Trump is an ally who despises subservience and, on the other hand, is much more condescending towards strong powers. Subservience will not make him respect us more.

Do you think European leaders, especially following les amenaces sobre Groenlàndia or Iran's war, starting to rebel against Trump?

— The EU is as weak as its leaders are, and we are in a moment of very weak leadership. [Emmanuel] Macron has been a lame duck for a long time, [Friedrich] Merz has only been in power for a year and has his popularity underground. Furthermore, next year there will be elections in four of the bloc's five largest countries – Italy, France, Spain, and Poland – and if the far-right does well, it will have a very large impact on European politics. This also means that we have very volatile leaderships, very insecure about themselves, and with very short agendas of national interests. It will also depend on the US midterm elections. If Trump also becomes a lame duck, there are two options: either Europe will feel stronger, or Trump will feel more challenged and become more vengeful, which can also be a problem for the EU.

The book also talks a lot about Angela Merkel, as one of the last strong leaders in the EU. She left amidst applause, but her legacy is increasingly in doubt.

— She has been the leader who has defined the EU in each of the major crises we have experienced at the beginning of this century. From the economic crisis to the migratory crisis, as well as in relations with Russia and Israel. Her vision of Europe – economic austerity, pro-Atlanticism, pro-Zionism, and dependence on Russian fossil fuels – has ended up weakening the EU. Be that as it may, Europe's solution is not strong leadership, but clear visions. We do not need more saviors; there have been too many, and many of these far-right forces also present themselves as saviors of reality. I think the same of Von der Leyen, who tries to occupy all the political space she can within European institutions.