European Union: growing discontent

I confess that I cannot avoid this article at the beginning of the holidays having a rather grey tone, the result of the disappointment caused by the partial knowledge and the brief analysis that I have been able to make. from the agreement a few days ago between President Trump and President Von der Leyen on the future of economic and geopolitical relations between the US and the EU. I emphasize the adjectives "partial" and "brief" because there hasn't been complete agreement in the versions of the agreements published by both sides, and because I thought that perhaps we haven't learned everything that was discussed and agreed upon—or what was left pending and hasn't been said. I also can't help but say that, if I had to summarize in two words what I believe the agreement was, they would be: "imposition" on the one hand and "acceptance" on the other. The first, having known the protagonist for several months now, didn't surprise me; but the second, knowing von der Leyen's long career, surprised me, was difficult for me to understand, and left me very dissatisfied and worried.

I analyze two aspects I've already discussed in other articles, which are leading to growing citizen discontent and significant confrontations both internally in many countries and globally. I focus primarily, first, on the deterioration of politics and democracy, and then on Europe's evident diminishing role in the crises we are experiencing, and on the opportunities we are failing to seize.

1. Democracies of the 21st century. A significant portion of countries that enjoyed peaceful democratic conditions throughout the last century have seen their political systems deformed and transformed into something that can no longer be called the same, and which some refer to as "autocracies." The transformation has two distinct stages: the first consists of the continuation of the system of free voting by citizens, but with this freedom unconsciously manipulated, taking advantage of the new capacities for the creation and distribution of information by economic and political platforms that steer votes toward extreme positions, especially those on the right and the far right.

In the second, the seemingly free results place in government positions people who lack a democratic will and who act in a style reminiscent of dictatorships of bygone eras. That is, they believe that, once elected by the citizens, they can impose their personal wills, disregarding legislative or judicial powers—even to modify the system and extend their time in power. We have seen stories of this kind not only in countries that have entered democratic systems for the first time, but also in a growing number of countries that had been models of democracy during the last century and that now surprise with their decisions and positions.

2. The role of Europe. Just a few days after the meeting between Trump and Von der Leyen, with the weak European position we've all seen, we now see how other meetings between Trump and Putin are being prepared to seek a solution to Russia's attempt to seize a significant part of Ukraine, finding a final agreement to end the war. Incredibly, neither the Ukrainian president nor any European representative is allowed to participate. Some say Trump is seeking the Nobel Peace Prize... What's been happening in recent days further strengthens the feeling that the European Union has no say and that, instead, a club of three countries (the United Kingdom, Germany, and France) is emerging, trying to do what the EU or NATO should do.

It's no wonder that all this provokes a sense of disorientation and concern in those who, like me, continue to believe that Europe has the demographic, economic, cultural, and historical dimensions to remain in the coming years one of the five or six "spaces" that make up the whole of global geopolitics: North America, South America, the Americas.

Needless to say, many things must happen and many agreements must be reached between groups of nations and communities to build something that is not yet defined, but that responds to the needs of 8 or 9 billion people who can coexist equitably on a planet with its limits. Europe clearly faces three urgent challenges: a) Cease being a "treaty" and become a "federal state" in the political sphere and a "single market" in the economic sphere; b) Make up for its lack of natural resources with a strong development of science and technology in the fields of electronics, computing, and artificial intelligence; and c) Maintain its concern for the collective well-being of its citizens and strengthen its capacity to help other parts of the world increase their well-being. We will not fail.