EN | IT | PL – Poland is passing nowadays the democracy exam in front of the Venice Commission, advisory body of the Council of Europe dealing with constitutional matters and protection of human rights. The Polish Supreme Court asked the Commission for expertise and assistance protesting against the reform of the Polish Constitutional Court imposed by the present parliamentary majority.
EN | IT – The cold wind which has blown undaunted from the north of Europe these days has perhaps caused fierce damages to the process of European integration. Europe, grappling with a severe economic crisis, tired and depressed, decadent because launched to a merciless old age caused by population decline, drunk with his recent technological progress, which has caused corruption, crime, moral libertinism in addition to well-being, has found scapegoats in Islam, identified only with terrorism.
EN | IT | FR – This Pope is a blessing for the Catholic Church and all of humanity. Pope Francis has already demonstrated his courage and strong authority in internal Church matters and on the subject of refugees. His speech to the European Parliament impressed everyone across party lines. I am very pleased that Pope Francis is now also focusing on the important issue of protecting the climate and environment with the encyclical Laudato si’…
EN | DE | IT | FR – At the very moment when our fragile European republics are at such odds with one another and when social crises threaten the very inner fabric of virtually every EU member state, it is ironic that it is from the lips of a European sovereign, who has already broken most monarchical records, that we heard the strongest rallying cry to unity within the European family and a warning that if we loose what binds West and East a bleak future awaits our continent.
EN | IT | FR – Citizens are outraged when the supranational dynamic is asphyxiated by the intergovernmental approach. Citizens are offended when they are considered only consumers of economic recipes and not actors of the integration process. Citizens feel betrayed by the lack of greater boldness, strong ideals, of durable foresight to bring back hope in a politically united Europe. To this resignation Europeans must react with new ideas and broad visions. We all feel the need for an awakening of latent energies especially among young people.
EN | IT | FR – To the question “Should the Greek debt burden be eased?” economists reply in favour. Servicing the debt (repayments and interest) drain a huge part of the Greek productive economy. As a result, Greece is sinking into a quagmire; it has already lost about a quarter of its productive effort, despite the indicators of these past few months apparently confirming that stabilisation is trending slightly upwards. The debt itself blocks any return to viable growth.
EN | IT – There’s no doubt that the triumph of the radical left in Greece had been widely heralded for months. People couldn’t take it any more, so they went for someone who could now tell them there’s still hope. And this will be the hardest thing, first and foremost for Tsipras, then for the European institutions. I don’t think there’s any real possibility of a Grexit, if you know what I mean (Greece’s withdrawal from the euro-zone): nobody wants it, it would make no sense for anyone, especially after the costs borne for the rescue that was decided back in 2012.
EN | IT | FR – The ideas are there. Titanic projects, in particular in terms of employment, poverty and immigration. The new Commission does not have much room to maneuver, especially since several Member States are always in serious economic difficulties. And it is them who finance the European Union!
EN | IT – The impression recently felt by the thinking world after listening to Pope Francis’ speech at the European Parliament on November 23rd is still very vivid. Pope Francis’ urging, in Strasbourg, was to “have faith in the human being”, to “take care of fragility”, to “preserve memory and identity”, and “open up to the transcendent dimension of history”, “not to lose our souls”, to “keep democracy alive”, and “acknowledge the centrality of the human being” by means of the educational work of families and schools.
EN | IT – Young people love Europe. You easily realize it when you listen to them telling us about Erasmus or their journeys to other European countries. You come across a beautiful and transparent sentiment, but this sentiment should grow into a political thought, a political project, and a political commitment. This is why it is so important to create places and propose moments in which the new European generations can meet to update a “dream”, to elaborate a new thought, to come into play, and to give a high meaning to their life – a meaning which is deeply rooted into their fields of origin and in the conviviality of different fields, which corresponds to the vocation of Europe.