A Europe of values

The document compiled by the "Committee of Sages" affirms that "right from the start the Union's objective was to promote a harmonious and balanced development of economic activities and a high level of employment and social protection." It was also to foster human dignity in an area of peace and security.

This European construction brought with it a vision of the future and an outpouring of hope. And these, in turn, have made the building of Europe a crucial element in the gradual peaceful growth of democracy as more new countries have joined.

"Today, for the first time in centuries, Europe is reunited in peace." Europeans can be proud of all that they have achieved in half a century. "But are we?" the Wise Men ask.

They note that the French and Dutch 'No' in the 2005 referenda on the constitutional treaty brought to light the doubts, uncertainties and dissatisfaction of many Europeans.

They reflect a divide between the view of the political elites, broadly in favour of European integration and the treaty, and the view of a large slice of public opinion which is particularly concerned about globalisation, the fate of Europe's social models, and the mixing of cultures, all of them linked in their minds to enlargement.

Christian tradition

Europe can and must find a way of responding to these new challenges, but there is no agreement on how to relaunch the European project.

"The fact is that, lulled by a long period of guaranteed security and of growing prosperity, Europe's leaders shared a vision of European integration that was overly technocratic." And they therefore ceased to proclaim its underlying values.

EU citizens see it as a powerful bureaucratic machine arguing about obscure subjects, remote, cumbersome and costly, and over which they have very little influence. They hold this "European technocracy" responsible for the ills felt by people who are confronted by the challenges of globalisation and the environment, by significant long-term unemployment and by the implications of an ageing population.

The report declares that "if we are to put Europe back in touch with its citizens, we must get back to first principles. We must recall to mind those things which we should not have forgotten in the first place: over and above policies and institutions, the European project rests first and foremost upon values, upon an ethical view of life and of society. ... In the case of the EU these values are not exclusively Christian but they are deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. Their foundation and their objective is respect for human dignity, which Christians accept as a consequence of God's creation, of Christ's incarnation and of the operation of the Holy Spirit."

Starting in the Fifties under the guidance of visionary politicians, the European project that led to the signature of the Treaty of Rome established a network of relationships and mutual dependence through the creation and regulation of a common market, bringing peoples together in a common endeavour so that the political, economic and psychological factors which had led to conflict in the past and could, unchecked, do so again, were no longer an issue. The result, in Western Europe, has been the longest period of peace in modern times. Today's generation takes this for granted.

But in the light of history, and for the sake of our mutual well-being, "the construction of Europe remains just as important now as it ever was".

Today, the insidious threat from terrorism is a further compelling reason to continue with the construction of Europe in a new version of the will for peace which inspired the Union's founders.

The four freedoms which are the basis of the single market (free circulation of people, goods, services and capital) are the first to be threatened by would-be dictatorial governments. Competition policy is designed to prevent the powerful from dominating the single market while regional policy is designed to ensure the equitable distribution of prosperity and enable structural adjustments in less favoured regions.

Risk of paralysis

The preamble to the Treaty of Rome speaks of laying "the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe". "What we should be seeking to achieve", said Jean Monnet, "is to bring together the interests of the peoples of Europe, and not simply to maintain the status quo between those interests". Hence the Community method is designed to achieve the common good rather than simply reconciling national interests. Therein lies its ethical dimension: the common good is greater than the sum of individual national interests.

With the passage of time and the acquisition of new competences, the intergovernmental dimension has developed in parallel to the Community method, distancing itself from the spirit of the founding fathers.

The document notes that during the past few years Europe has favoured the intergovernmental approach rather than the Community method. "In so doing it is losing its originality, its inspiration and its effectiveness," declared the Wise Men, who opine that it can lead to paralysis and a drift towards nationalism and populism, the disastrous effects of which are engraved on Europe's history. Given the political trends in some of our countries, this risk is not illusory.

The concept of European citizenship, introduced by the Maastricht treaty in 1992, underlines the Union's aim of bringing people closer together. It comes as an addition to national citizenship and coexists alongside it: European citizenship adds something to national citizenship, it does not subtract from it. Without overlooking what brings states together, the European "Community" favours what brings people together. In this it is inspired by Christian tradition.

From the ashes of war, the European Community has built a significant economic and monetary power through the creation of a common market and a single currency. It has worked to endow itself with diplomatic and military capability, to be used to promote peace, human dignity and fundamental rights. But it can only have real weight if it is strong and united.

The European project stands as an example of what can be done through reconciliation, stability and prosperity.

Because of its economic power and its collective action the Union is able to bring real influence to bear on the intercontinental dialogue which is gradually setting the rules of globalisation, and establishing thereby a system of "global governance". "Where would we stand if we were to act in a disorganised way vis-à-vis the great continental powers of the United States, China, India or Russia?"

The weight given to smaller countries in all of the Union's institutions is an indication of respect for their identity and singularity. No international body of similar size shows as much respect for the plurality of languages written and spoken in common institutions. Diversity is perceived not only as a reality, but also as an enrichment.

Subsidiarity

The EU is the only international body to have written in its basic rules the principle of subsidiarity according to which "decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen." Subsidiarity provides a matrix for the sharing of power between different levels of authority.

But it is worth noting that the underlying principle of respect for lower levels of decision-making is directly derived from the social teaching of the Church: "To withdraw from groupings of a lower order, in favour of a larger collective of a higher order, those functions which the former are able to exercise themselves, would not only be to commit an injustice but also to disturb the social order in a very damaging way" (Quadragesimo Anno, 79).

The EU is the most developed example of multilateralism developed in Europe in the second half of the 20th century as a reaction against the tragic consequences of totalitarian ideologies which had left Europe stained with blood. It has created, within clearly defined limits, a supranational power, European framework of law and the exercise of authority at different levels of decision-taking.

In these ways the European project protects our societies from the excesses of a narrow nationalism. At the same time it strikes a chord well beyond our own frontiers because it seeks, and seems to have attained, a balance between free market economies on the one hand and a certain level of regulation on the other.

At the heart of multilateralism lies the effective working of common institutions which guarantee the primacy of law, the absence of domination and the search, through compromise, for the good of all while respecting the legitimate interests of each and every one. Tolerance, respect for our neighbour, whether big and powerful or not, the quest for solutions which allow us to go forward together: all those are the key to the European multilateral project. It is all those things which make it of interest to others and which give it worth.

Solidarity has been at the heart of the construction of Europe since the beginning. It is a defining aspect of the Community, first thought of in the Fifties by statesmen who, for the most part, hailed from the Christian Democrat and Social Democratic traditions.

The Union can often seem inward-looking and caught up in its own internal tensions because those internal debates are frequently difficult. But at heart, Europe is open to the rest of the world and its problems. In his inaugural speech in 1950, Robert Schuman insisted explicitly on our obligations towards Africa.

Today's challenges

Today, Europe is deploying significant resources in a spirit of partnership and solidarity. The Union runs the world's biggest emergency humanitarian aid budget. It is more and more in demand as a peacekeeping power in crisis situations.

Today's problems are no less challenging than those facing the Founding Fathers: globalisation, climate change, demographic explosion, an aging population, poverty and social exclusion, growing scarcity of vital resources, mass migration, pandemics and the increasing risk of local conflicts and international terrorism. But today's leaders are also better equipped than their predecessors, sixty years ago.

They have created a network of co-operation, unheard of in previous centuries, which can promote responsible outcomes on fundamental issues of international concern.

Never before has it been so obvious that we are one world. Never before has it been so obvious that it is Europe's responsibility to care for that world.

A new generation of Europeans, aware of the underlying values which the European project has been safeguarding and promoting, must now carry it forward to consolidate the just peace, equitable prosperity and balanced power which 50 years of effort have brought within our reach.

The report concludes: "The European Union was not fated to happen. It has always depended on the exercise of will. It is, as is all human endeavour, fragile.

"Today, it is searching for the way forward. It must become more aware of the strength which lies at the heart of the values it enshrines: dignity of the human being and human rights, peace, freedom, democracy, tolerance, respect for diversity and subsidiarity, and the search for the common good without any one group being dominant over another.

"These underlying values, the moral bedrock, are not matters of a moment. Their roots lie deep in 2,000 years of Christian tradition, as also in the traditions of other creeds and philosophies. Those values and that tradition are as potent now as they were in the past. They must remain the foundation of our common endeavour, which we must pursue with consistent and determined leadership."