Carmelo Marcén Albero
Eco-social researcher and collaborator with Fundación Alternativas
The truth is that the European Union has long held the status of ethical reference for much of the world. Its form of social management gives it the moral standing to position itself as a leader over other models of governance. Its management bodies, both the Commission and the Parliament, are subject to what Jacques Delors, born into a working-class family with modest origins, often repeated to us: education is an indispensable factor for humanity to achieve the ideals of peace, freedom and social justice. I experienced this personally, for coming from a poor family in a poor land, education was a social lift that I have enjoyed. Albert Camus also spoke of it when he received his Nobel Prize. An educational and social advantage that I would like all Europeans to share in, and also the migrants who have come to us, seeking access to resources their families lack or fleeing horror.
As we are about to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2025, Delors is more present than ever among those of us who think of solidarity as the cornerstone of coexistence. For those of us who, like him, maintain that “the market cannot be an end in itself, it must be at the service of the well-being and progress of all”. As he taught us, Europe is a construction that must be constantly reinvented.
As well as paying tribute to Delors, all of the above comes as a tribute to the fact that there are rumblings of inequality in some EU policies. Elections to the European Parliament will be held on 9 June. We have ahead of us eco-social storm clouds that run counter to what the French politician also advocated: European unity is a matter of common interest, not only for the Member States, but also for their citizens.
Many of the political groups contesting in Parliament have often forgotten that they are at the service of the citizens and of the planet on which they live in permanent interaction with biodiversity. They fail to remember that we all have a responsibility, and the women and men who make up Parliament even more so, to protect and preserve our planet for future generations. They seem to have missed the point that “intergenerational solidarity is essential to ensure a sustainable future” – another Delors sign.
In the EU’s constant reinvention, there can be no backward steps. We are already beginning to recall with nostalgia that New Deal Europe, a European green pact that sounded like a glory a few years ago. But it is losing its lustre. By the looks of it, there will be setbacks in environmental policy, as the EU’s political agenda shifts towards economic and security issues. There is still some green, which is why we have some good news from a few days ago. In the end, the restoration law was passed, although no one is able to calculate how far it will go. Progress has been made on new eco-design and right to repair laws, the reduction of packaging waste has been agreed, progress has been made on the protection of human rights and the environment. As I write these lines, I receive a phone call informing me that the European Parliament has just approved the new Air Quality standard. We must hold on to the positive, even if we are aware of the shortcomings. Here is a scoreboard, a ranking of EU political groups and national parties based on legislative voting records on climate, nature and pollution.
We turned to Social Europe for the EU’s pre-election barometer. We’ll compose a summary of the key entries it scores: new EU own resources are needed to meet new challenges, the reasons why progressives should say no to austerity need to be focused, Europe’s material footprint needs to be reduced, and so on. If not, Europe’s political leaders may miss a vital encounter with history. “The future is social”, as the 24th issue of The Progressive Post magazine of FEPS (Foundation for European Progressive Studies) puts it.
For those who are confused, the European Parliament frames the policy that can/should be made by the Commission, which executes parliamentary agreements. Polls predict a sharp shift to the right in June, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations. It warns that radical right-wing populist parties will gain votes and seats across the EU, and green and centre-left parties will lose them. Far-right parties are increasingly dominant in national settings in many EU capitals. The consequences would be catastrophic for Europe’s socio-environmental future. For the eco-social transition, especially after the accession of Eastern European countries, has only just begun on environmental, social and economic issues. What about the growing inequalities?
The results of the Hertie School Jacques Delors Centre survey are very pertinent, and seek to discover the climate references of European voters. As expressed, these are still fundamental to reinventing the EU today, in order to bring a just eco-social transition to a successful conclusion – this is where a large part of the global ethic comes together. We reproduce in full part of what is said after the survey:
“Most voters still want a more ambitious climate policy and would support a number of concrete measures to reduce emissions. However, supporting crucial voters in the middle will require a greater focus on green investment, as well as industrial policy and offsetting measures for effective but unpopular policies, such as carbon pricing. Parties should not waste the coming months outdoing each other on how to address imagined climate fatigue, but compete on concrete recipes for greening the economy”.
We are left with a question that is becoming less and less of a question: what would Delors say to all this? Let us vote in his memory.
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