Whichever way Britain votes in its referendum on EU membership this Thursday, French president François Hollande has promised new “initiatives” in the coming days to reinvigorate the European Union. Hollande himself has gone out on a limb by associating himself strongly with British premier David Cameron's opposition to so-called 'Brexit'. Meanwhile, as Lénaïg Bredoux reports, the French Left is itself split over the issue of Europe and how to approach it.
The dogmatic intransigence and unprecedented brutality that Germany has directed towards the Greek government now marks a historic break-up of the European project, writes Mediapart editor François Bonnet in this analysis of the five years of high drama surrounding the Greek debt crisis. The camouflage, he writes, has finally dropped: the arrival of an aggressive German superpower in Europe, seated on economic strength but also its influence over a number of central European states, one that is intent on imposing its economic and monetary vision, promises untold divisions and dangers.
Mediapart is launching a special project called “#OpenEurope” in partnership with seven Tunisian and European news outlets plus associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This operation is a direct response to the miserable selfishness shown by European leaders, and aims to tell the real stories of how people are coming together to help migrants in Europe. The objective, too, is to defend a vision of Europe that stays true to its values of welcome, asylum and openness. Mediapart reporter Carine Fouteau and editor François Bonnet explain how it will work – and how people can get involved.
The European Commission’s incoming president, centre-right politician Jean-Claude Juncker, caused surprise this summer when he pledged his support for a continent-wide minimum wage. Juncker, who will take up his post in November, has not yet detailed the potentially complicated practical framework for applying the minimum wage, a move which runs against the tide of the blanket austerity policies until now championed by Brussels. While Juncker faces numerous obstacles to succeed with the scheme, not least from European treaty texts, the idea that raising low incomes would be beneficial to economies appears to be gaining support even from the most unexpected quarters. Mediapart’s Brussels correspondent Ludovic Lamant reports on the arguments for and against, and in just what form a pan-European minimum wage might finally see the light of day.
In a rare move, a group of young public servants and diplomats based in the European Union's headquarters in Brussels has launched a passionate plea for a more constructive and far-reaching debate about the fate of Europe. Members of the group, called Euro2030, want to remain anonymous to avoid embarrassing the institutions its members work for. But with under two weeks to go before European elections, this new generation of officials at the very heart of the EU has become frustrated both by the tone of the current debate on Europe and by the failures of the EU itself. The group's analysis of Europe's faults and its proposed solutions are at loggerheads with the orthodox view of Brussels institutions. Above all, the young bureaucrats admit that the EU dream is not working – and that European integration “runs the risk” of losing the support of the continent's people. Ludovic Lamant reports.
