The long and winding road
From the Schuman Declaration to nowadays Europe
Today, the 9th of May, the European Union celebrates Europe Day. Although this celebration is still not very famous, it was established to remember the onset of our European Community. This date marks the anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, delivered by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman on 9th May 1950. In that speech, the creation of the European Community of Steel and Coal (ECSC) is first spoken of: the idea of a commonly organised Europe is not new, with ideas sparking from Carlo Cattaneo’s vision in the late 1800s, to the Ventotene Manifesto and Churchill’s declarations. Yet, the first real attempt to realise such a complex institutional framework was brought about by the Schuman Declaration, stating that
“World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it”.
This led to negotiations effectively establishing the first European Community as of 1951. Some may not perceive a great deal of meaning in celebrating Europe Day, as nowadays’ Europe differs greatly from back then; but that day marked a historical moment that allowed building the Union we live in, therefore being still relevant to all of its citizens. Since then, Europe has progressed a lot, going from a Union of 6 countries that shared coal and steel resources, to a 27-State complex political and institutional framework that creates a true community in our continent. The steps taken were gradual and proportional, starting from the Treaty of Rome in 1957. On such occasion, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands and West Germany established the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community, paving the way to the harmonisation of economic policies and being the laying legal foundation for all the following treaties. It also gave the European Community the institutional asset we are familiar with nowadays: a Commission, a Council and a Parliamentary Assembly. Yet, the Parliament was not elected by citizens until 1979.
As the years went by, many Countries realised the perks of being in a stable international political environment upkeeping peace, security and economy within the whole continent. In fact, in 1973 Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the Community, followed by Greece, Spain and Portugal in the next decade. The Single European Act of 1986 marks a cornerstone for European history: it kickstarted the process for the creation of a single market within the Union, that still remains one of the main features around which today’s Europe revolves.
This fundamental step was developed extensively in the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. It laid the foundations for the European citizenship and free movement of people, outlining a clear institutional format and procedures, and a roadmap towards the establishment of a common currency and the European Central Bank. Not all these steps were widely welcomed by the Member States, yet eventually, they reached a consensus as all countries started realising the perks of furthering European integration.
A big step towards European integration is represented by the single currency of the Eurozone: the Euro. The path towards a monetary union was first laid out in the late ’60s as the concept of what would later become the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was first conceived. This process was kickstarted by a series of events, such as the instability of the international monetary market, which endangered the common prices set within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. After the creation of the European Monetary System (ESM) in 1979 the course towards monetary union became clearer: in 1990 the “Delors Report” explained how this objective could be achieved by proposing a three-stage preparatory period, covering a nine-year period from 1990 to 1999. His recommendations were accepted and signed in the Maastricht treaty. Nonetheless, European integration does not stop with such treaty, as in the period between 2004 and 2007 the EU committed to the enlargement of its borders towards the east by adding 8 former eastern-bloc countries as well as Malta and Cyprus in 2004 and of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. This expansion is considered as the resolution of the decade-long bloc division, decided during the Yalta Conference that split the European continent up both physically and politically.
When talking of European integration, one must not forget the Lisbon Treaty, signed and ratified in 2007 by all Member States. The journey of this treaty started in 2001 when the Commission (following the Laeken Declaration) gave the mandate to form a Constitutional Treaty, which failed due to the opposition of France and the Netherlands, that held referenda that ultimately rejected the idea of a European Constitution. This led to a two-year “period of reflection” whose outcome was the Treaty of Lisbon: it reformed various institutions as well as their procedures, starting with the European Parliament, whose role has since become more important thanks to an enhanced legislative procedure as well as an increase in shared competences. Reforms were also put into place for the European Council, the Council of Ministers and the Commission; moreover a formal procedure for the withdrawal from the EU was implemented with the article 50 TEU. Additionally, the Charter of Fundamental Rights has become legally binding, and the European Citizens’ Initiative was established, allowing citizens to present law initiatives to the European Commission.
The 2008 financial crisis originated in the US, after the “explosion” of the speculative bubble on subprime mortgage loans which resulted in the bankruptcy of several banks operating in the US: this financial problems soon started to affect European credit institutes as they faced problems too.
The crisis hit the European continent as a whole, but it caused economic suffering to countries who were already experiencing economic difficulties: the outcome of the crises is yet to be fully understood, as its consequences are still unfolding. Consequences have resulted in five countries being stuck in cycles of bailout and austerity since 2009 as their sovereign debt continued to be considered dangerously high. This crisis did not cause problems to the financial and banking sectors only: it has affected (and still is) the life of millions of European citizens whose countries have seen a rise in unemployment and cuts in public spending. As already stated, the causes and effects of the crisis are part of a harsh debate that has seen major discrepancies in opinions regarding the future of the EU, with major political parties even questioning the sustainability of these institutions and calling for the secession of single member states.
Today Europe is facing yet another harsh crisis, that puts its unity and future at risk. However, we have come a long way thus far, going through what seemed to be enormous obstacles, that were in the end solved. Therefore, we must not forget our past, so as to build a better future together.
by Michele Rivetti and Enrico Zonta
