liberation journalist like you
the explained it’s been 25 years that I cover
europe and I was given a subject that
is totally impossible ie to
what will Europe look like in 20 years
frankly i do not know i’m
not showy I do not shoot the cards
it is extremely difficult to draw
predictions so facts that are
necessarily unknown from facts
known then the only thing we can
to do is to list known facts
and we try to predict from these
facts known today that can
change tomorrow or soon after tomorrow
the most evolutionary lines
probable
so when we talk about europe I think
that the first thing to do is
to abandon all that we you
learned everything that is believed on
europe because europe is not
a whole europe of the peoples of which you are
speak constantly we are there europe
peoples erasmus the journeys of the
things like that would have been europe
it’s a europe of states it is necessary
abandon that idea that it’s the
peoples who wanted europe europe
was never wanted by the peoples
the day after the second war
world in 1950 when we launch the
community building at this time
that’s what you believe
while the peoples of europe was
destroyed by a war absolutely
monstrous that he saw a genocide
between 1945 and 1950 there have been
massive displacement of populations
across europe people were dying
still hungry mourey cold france
was still destroyed I do not even speak
not Eastern countries under the bluntly
interests strictly nothing
Germany had been destroyed by
allies since she had resisted
until the end
do you believe that at that moment
the central concern of peoples
it was to think of Europe
obviously not the central concern
peoples at that time it was
think about daily survival and he has
took a few men an elite a
tiny elite who call themselves but
how can we do to prevent the
disaster that we have just experienced in
1939 1945 who repeated the catastrophe of
14-18 repeats itself again
so this is a project that has been
worn by some so the French
the Germans the Italians then the countries
from benelux netherlands belgium and
luxembourg
this little elite gathered around
of a table saying what are we
can do to prevent it from starting again
and the idea was to build
europe we build it you know
the economic coal community and
of the cd rom steel was in common the
management of coal and steel
allowed to make weapons
and then we did the big
market so the economic community
European
but every time it’s treated have been
negotiated by elites wanted by
elites and that was adopted not by
referendum but by parliaments so
composed of deputies representing
peoples and honestly peoples it’s
in 1957 you had questioning the
peoples to know what europe was
people bron god yes it is coal
and possibly steel from
60s is agriculture but they
were not ready more concerned than
this is what things
basically changed today
obviously not have you seen
big demonstrations across
europe to defend the european idea
do you see peoples
anguished citizens anguished facing
the future of europe street a small
minority but most people do not
do not care about the majority of people
first feel national and then
possibly European or citizen
of the world
europe it’s still a state affair a
crime case so it’s very important
what I am saying to you
because as these are the states that
have decided to do something that we
had never done so far
that is, to share sovereignty
a part of our sovereignty
voluntarily with other states
so far what had been done
it was empires only
empires ie there was a state
who conquered the other states that
imposed his language his culture his
economic system
his legal system this time he
had to find one so a point
balanced between states that had
legal historical traditions
economic and it’s totally
different and that it was necessary
so build outbreaks build
institutions in which
states come together and that compromises
which would be developed by these institutions
do not really hurt people this is
to say that nobody wins but
nobody loses either
it was dirty important in the
community building and especially
states wary of each other
wanted to keep absolute control and
have always sought to keep the
absolute control of the institutions
community it creates that’s why
than today when we speak to you
europe
you do not understand anything and
frankly I do not blame you
because myself after 25 years at
to take care of European affairs I am
lose again because you have to
principle of all construction
community is how the states
can control it the origin of the laws
Community because Europe is
a c is essentially a producer
of standards and on arrival begins these
standards are applied in the
different states the states are if you
want the hand of god this one on it
principle of origin and the principle of
reception each time so they
control the institutions as a whole
it’s not at all the united states
europe
it’s not you do not have a president
american a European president you
have passed does not exist you do not have
that one states you have a wave
European parliament that looks a little
to the House of Representatives
americans but the european parliament
is not the House of Representatives
yesterday just look at how are
elected MEPs
it is in the case of constituency
national and the little ones
representatives finally the citizens of the
small states weigh up to 12 times more
that the representatives of the great states
for example it takes 850 4000 French
to elect a deputy when you do not have to
than 72 Maltese mines to elect a
deputy ie it is the negation of the
founding principle of any democracy
a man equals a voice this one she she
understand that if we have in our head that
these are the states that actually sends
representatives of citizens sit on the
European Parliament
and these are the states that are the
masters of the skill that’s called
the competence of the competence to say
it is they who decide at every moment
what will happen in the machine
community if you ask me
question but I know what basically
competences of the European Union of
what is the European Union doing then
I have a vague idea that is to say that I
know that there are five skills
exclusive but for the rest whose
monetary policy for example the
competition policy
lapret the preservation of resources
halieutic fisheries what is it
it’s the mother obviously the fishes get
it’s absolutely essential
so that’s the presses and those things
which deals with the European Union alone
but for the rest we do not know anything
because these are so-called
shared skills
that is, states can
decide unanimously within the board
European heads of state
government to get some
number of domains in the machine
Community therefore the skills of
the European Union spend their time
vary according to the interests of
states so when we salsa in the lead
that is basically that’s the
states that controls the machinery
Community therefore the possible evolution
of the European Union we must question
not peoples tell themselves what is this
which is possible with peoples world
but what do the states want so
you have to go to the states and
to evolve the European Union to
that it changes
as these are the states that are the
masters beyond the skill and who
are the masters of the treatises it takes
so that states accept to
unanimously to amend the rules of the
game you imagine if it took
the unanimity of the French to limit
British dynamited the Belgians for
modify the constitution
well the evolutions would be
extremely slowly
that’s why Europe evolved
extremely slowly strokes
compromise extremely often twisted
unsatisfactory in which many do not
not find themselves but again
in which no one has the
feeling of actually losing a
part 2 of sounds of his I would say of his
sovereignty or its national interests
would be totally compromised once
you have that in mind
how can the european union evolve
but then it would be necessary for me my dream
it’s a federal europe ie
we are building the united states of europe to
the American with a European president
elected a senate a chamber of
skills representatives
extremely precise sovereigns in
areas in which the union
European today has no
competence defense politics
foreign immigration policy the
asylum policy etc
that is to say in fact of competence
sovereign what makes a state if he
makes a European power
that’s what happens in the usa
you have an elected US president
with it has armed forces that
decides who enter the territory
american who do not enter politics
immigration
the naturalization policy so the
nationality etc
so that would be my dream but it would
say that states actually gives up the
control of institutions
Community, that is, we give up
at the control of the european union
and that’s the problem and this is the big
disappointment is that it will not happen
only happen if citizens you
you seize Europe and force you
the states to do this big federal leap
so the most likely evolution
alas, alas, alas, of the european union
and I still suffer a form
European federalist
is that we risk having I would say the
continuation of what is being done
today ie something
of foggy complex where we do not know
who really exercise the
responsibility or states when they
go home the heads of
government when they go home
say it’s not me who said it’s
airlock and brussels have not worked
this is the fault in Brussels even if all
it’s a lie
so this system in which people get
find no one feels
represent risk of continuing with
improvements obviously because the
improvements there will be forced to them from
do it simply because of the shock
external crises
what just happened for example
with the crisis of the euro area bah it
constrained us for example created
so these techniques I recognize it
the banking union that means what it is
to say that banks instead of being
controlled by states and by
national central banks are
controlled directly by Frankfurt and
the European Central Bank
you’re going to say yeah that was who no
it’s very important because the
banks and governments sleep
together they are the same ones who
lead
and that’s why there was
a lot of bank failures because
in fact we protect each other
other bricks now if you have
a banking system that is controlled
by an external and federal authority
you have a chance that the crisis of
2007 2008 does not happen again it’s a
certainly technical progress but it is
a tomorrow for example we will have
a European defense
I do not really believe it
because that would mean that the
French who will remain the only defense
credible in the European Union since
the British go away and that’s it
will not regret and so it’s more than
the British are leaving well
it will be difficult for the French
to accept that the intervention of his
army be decided by 27 more countries
it will mean that countries that have
pacifist traditions that refuse
to go fight agree to go
to send men to die on
outdoor theaters
because today the majority of the
European population considers that
to wage war and die to defend
its national interests the interests
in this case
well it’s not part of a future
I would say desirable and predictable
and yet we must think that if we
wants to defend our interests someday he
will have to go to war we do not live
in a mickey world we do not live in
disneyland
it will fight well and the problem
it’s just once again that for
make this credible European defense
that means that 1 France gives up
its sovereignty but it also means
that other countries agree to send
young people dying on the bottom yes because
what are the young people who are going to die
it’s rarely the old people of my
age who will die on the front we will
sends the youngsters as a rule so
this is likely to be debts of
their taking to continue like this us to
say claudicating in a world in a
world which alas is becoming more and more
complexes where we are weighing less and
less today Europe is 500
millions of people in a world of 7
billion people in twenty years
will still be a world of no doubt 8 9
10 billion people and we
will ask less and less if we
I will finish on this sentence if we
fail to unite and well one
will disappear from the story of
mankind
thank you
[Applause]
”
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