Europeans of all countries, unite!

Louis Drounau
4 min readJun 27, 2018

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[Originally published at foodforthought.blog.lemonde.fr on June 27, 2018]

One consequence of living abroad is that, over the course of the rare visits back home, encounters with friends and family members often become a recap of our lives: what we have been doing, what we want to do, what our future plans include, etc. Having recently joined Volt − a pan-European political party −, I logically often find myself discussing that new endeavour, and the conversation naturally veers to Europe and European politics.

Reactions to the idea or creation of Volt differ: some laud the idea of finally having a real Europe-wide party, some doubt our ability to muster any meaningful support, and other still are open to a new party but fear the timeline before the election is too short. But what struck me most over the past week − I happen to be back in Europe as I write − is reactions to the topic of European federalism.

Federalism in European politics has long been − and, for many, still remains − a taboo. I vividly remember one of France Culture’s many fascinating podcasts initiating a conversation on the future of Europe along those lines: « nationalism is not a viable option, a federal Europe will never happen, so let’s discuss the real options for the future of Europe ». As a convinced federalist, I remember feeling enraged that an option I cared so deeply about was dismissed in a matter of seconds, before a one-hour in-depth conversation about European institutions, the EU’s democratic deficit and other topics.

The bare mention of federalism made guests chuckle and everyone was careful not to ever mention the word again.

We have seen the consequences of this blind spot. As far as Europe is concerned, the only political answers offered to citizens are either some version of the status quo − whereby we add a budget here, we harmonise a few regulations there, or create a new intergovernmental mechanism − or a complete departure from the Union − starting with Brexit and continuing with endless variations on the name. This restricted offer makes for the continued despair of pro-Europeans and is sure to drive all strands of euro-skeptics in the radical camp of euro-exiters.

And this is where we circle back to those catch-up discussions. Many live reactions to the idea of European federalism, from young urbans to otherwise older social conservatives, derived from a recurring theme: « I’m actually in favour of a federal Europe, it’s the only way to go forward, but no one is proposing it… ». And I admit that, even from ERASMUS-generation youngsters, this acceptance and support took me aback, but they underscore two important and intertwined lessons.

Firstly, that we cannot take for granted political affiliation with current parties to assess the level of support for the federalist option. No major national party openly champions a federal Europe, and this lack of political offer prevents people from voicing support for this option.

And, secondly, that parties should not derive their political programme from their expectations of what people want. Parties must forge ahead with genuine convictions and create a space for discussion on the ideas they support. The topic of federalism is a clear example: for as long as the idea is simply dismissed as a political chimera, it will not be openly and clearly discussed. Federalist movements, as well as every single federalist supporter within existing parties, must strive to get the issue on the agenda and not assume that support is lacking.

All in all, it obviously remains unsure whether we can muster a strong majority in favour of European federalism, but repeated discussions with non-political individuals of all generations and walks of life highlight an untapped support for this option, one strong enough to warrant a genuine debate on the benefits and consequences of federalism.

Let’s be clear, this is a chance and a lesson to all pro-Europeans: support is there, and we need to muster it before it erodes under the combined forces of increasingly-mainstream nationalism and political inertia that opposes risk-taking, favouring instead safe political choices made to maximise electoral chances.

Reforming our electoral system is a part of the answer; the other is to boldly proclaim what we stand for and force it on the general discussion so that it may no longer be limited to small academic or Brussels-centred circles. From all countries, we, as pro-Europeans, must unite!

Originally published at foodforthought.blog.lemonde.fr on June 27, 2018.

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Louis Drounau
Louis Drounau

Written by Louis Drounau

Founder of European Democracy Consulting eudemocracy.eu 🇪🇺 | President of EuropeanConstitution.eu 📜 | Founding Member of Mieux Voter 🗳

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