Courtney McGrailPope Francis is offering a fresh vision for Europe, write Martin Schulz and Jean-Claude Juncker
Martin Schulz and Jean-Claude Juncker
The decision to award this year’s Charlemagne Prize to Pope Francis is an unusual one. Some will joke that the European Union must be in a bad way if it is in need of papal assistance, and others will wonder why exactly a Pope from Argentina is being given a prize intended to honour people for their contribution to the peaceful unification of Europe. We are convinced that Pope Francis deserves this prize, simply because he sent Europe a message of hope.
Perhaps we needed an Argentinian to turn his outsider’s gaze on the innermost values which bind us Europeans together to remind us of our strengths. After all, at times when the words ‘Europe’ and ‘crisis’ are often uttered in the same breath it is easy to forget what Europe has achieved and what it is capable of: from the ruins left behind by the Second World War, our fathers and mothers built a Europe founded on peace and humanity.
They deliberately turned their backs on the warmongering, the craving for destruction and the inhumanity which characterised the first half of the 20th Century. Instead, they joined forces to create a Europe in which there would not be winners and losers, but only winners. In taking that step, they showed they had learnt the lessons of history: whenever Europeans have been divided, the consequences for everyone have been disastrous; whenever we have stood together, it has brought better times for everyone.
Humanity
Europe’s soul is its values. When Pope Francis says that “a Europe which cares for, defends and protects every man and woman” is “a precious point of reference for all humanity”, he reminds us of just that. When Europe seems to be lurching from one crisis summit to the next, and people sometimes ask themselves whether people in Europe do indeed share common values, it is even more important that we to remember our shared strengths.
In the era of globalisation, we Europeans need one another more than ever, as three challenges we currently face make only too clear.
First, the challenge of safeguarding our European way of life. In an ever-more interconnected world, in which the rise of other countries and regions seems unstoppable, we have no choice but to combine our strengths.
The share of world economic output and the world population accounted for by Europe and its nations is dwindling. In the face of this evidence, anyone who believes that the time of the nation state has come is out of touch with reality.
We may not like these developments, but we cannot reverse them; if we stick together, however, we can shape them. No Member State acting alone – however influential it may be – can impose its interests and values on others; if we act together, however, we can help to frame the rules governing competition between the world’s powers.
For Europeans, therefore, it makes sense to stick together, because what is at stake is our social model, a model based on democracy, the rule of law, solidarity and human rights. We have civil rights, freedom of the press and the right to strike; we don’t have torture, child labour and the death penalty.
We derive our economic strength from the internal market and, with that strength behind us, we can secure and develop our values-based European social model.
Second, the challenge of guaranteeing security and peace. If we Europeans stand together we can achieve so much.
Think of the nuclear deal with Iran, or the climate agreement reached in Paris last December. These examples should encourage us, as Europeans, to act together and take more responsibility on the global stage. The world is becoming more complicated, some would say more dangerous.
The United States is scaling back its involvement in international affairs, Russia is flexing its muscles more and more aggressively and China is extending its sphere of influence in East Asia. Conflicts and wars are being waged on our doorstep; in Syria people are being killed every day, and in eastern Ukraine the situation remains worrying.
Attacks
The attacks in Brussels, Lahore, Istanbul and Paris have served as bitter reminders that Islamic terrorism is a global threat.
Faced with these geopolitical realities, we cannot afford to waste our energies on squabbles motivated by national vanity. We must speak with one voice, as this is the only way to make sure that our voice is heard around the world.
Third, the challenge of managing migration. Today, more people are fleeing from wars, conflicts and persecution than at any time since the Second World War. Men, women and children are seeking refuge here in Europe from ISIS’ brutal violence and the Assad regime’s barrel bombs. The challenge is so great that no member state acting alone can meet it – but if we act together, as a continent of more than 500 million people, we can share the responsibility.
Pope Francis’ visit to Lesbos was more than just a gesture. He took in 12 Syrian refugees and in doing so displayed a greater degree of practical solidarity than many EU member states. At the same time, the Pope is also issuing us with a call to action. Solidarity and ‘love thy neighbour’ are fine words, but these values only mean something if we put them into practice.
That is exactly what tens of thousands of volunteers are doing every day, driving themselves to exhaustion and beyond in their efforts to offer people refuge from terror, war and violence. They are distributing food to the refugees, making sure that they have clothes to put on their backs and teaching children in order to give them a future.
These volunteers are showing the refugees and the world Europe’s human face.
This is also the task of politicians – in particular on a continent which, too often in its history, has been divided by fences and walls, by trenches and borders. One of our achievements is to have overcome these divisions and created a Europe of peace and prosperity. Every one of us benefits from this, for example when we cross borders or do business.
When it comes to putting values into practice, Pope Francis has a lot of faith in us, but he wants us to do more to draw on the potential we have within us.
After all, our European way of working together and building bridges between people and countries has already enabled us to overcome the division of our continent. In view of the sometimes bewildering array of crises facing us today, we need that strength more than ever.
We perhaps don’t realise just what we are capable of, but Pope Francis gives us real hope for the future when he says that “our problems can become powerful forces for unity”. It is high time, therefore, that we Europeans stood up, every one of us, and fought for our shared Europe.
Martin Schulz is President of the European Parliament and Jean-Claude Juncker is President of the European Commission.