A Strong Europe Is Needed Now

Prof. Manfred Pohl, Spotlight Europe
Europe needs to be stronger to master the crisis, writes Prof. Pohl. (Remix by Spotlight Europe)

One crisis seems to succeed another nowadays. At the moment there is on the one hand the European financial crisis which has hit not only Greece and there is the political crisis in Crimea, Eastern Ukraine on the other hand. Looking globally there are wars and terror in every part of the world: The “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria or the Houthi rebels in Yemen to name a few.

The trouble spots of this world demand for a strong Europe. Because of this, Europe should evolve as quickly as possible in political as well as economic and military terms. This means specifically that Europe needs to become a political union – either as a union of states or a federal state in the example of the United States of America. In this regard further discussion will be necessary.

A swift solution to the European debt crisis has to be developed that deals not only with Greece alone but equally encompasses all countries of the Union.

Finally a European army needs to be set up that is strong enough to play a crucial role in NATO – together with other Western countries (e.g. USA). In the long term Europe strongly needs a bundling of forces in order to be not only heard but also taken seriously in the world.

Europe’s evolution has to be realized quickly so that future generations will know in which Europe they will live in some day.

About the author:

MP1Prof. Dr. Manfred Pohl is the Founder and Chairman of Frankfurter Zukunftsrat, the think tank that organises “My Europe”. more…

Time for Change

Prof. Dr. Manfred Pohl Remix, Spotlight Europe
“It is time for change”, finds Prof. Dr. Pohl. (Picture: Remix by Spotlight Europe)

We have lost track of the trouble spots of this world. But you do not have to face the world´s problems in order to have doubts on a peaceful future. The very last days in Europe are enough to leave us stunned and make us shake the head in disbelief. Especially young people in Europe do not grasp what really happens here while all the political talk is done.

“One should send three young people to Minsk.”

The negotiations in Minsk have been a farce: Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and François Hollande talked for 14 hours without any real result to present at the end of the day. The vital question is, though: Have these politicians nothing else to do but to quarrel over an explicit breach of international law? Time can be used better. One should send three young people aged between 15 and 20 to Minsk. In one hour they would achieve a neat proposal for solution. But then: Who takes notice of the youth?

For sure not old tyrants like Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Viktor Orbán. It is up to the youth though to shape and be our future, not old quarrelling politicians.

In the second half of the 20th century, the disorder of the world has given way to the hope of building a peaceful world. Although communism and fascism are no serious issues at the moment, the gaining momentum of populist left- and right-wing movements threatens to pull down the fragile structure of peace and democracy and to destroy these hopes.

“Brussels clings almost desperately to its outdated system.”

Brussels clings almost desperately to its outdated institutional system and does not see the change that is needed. A change that can only come if the voice of young Europeans gains weight and is taken seriously! The youth’s system of values is much more credible than that of cautiously haggling politicians.

Thus, it is high time that the youth co-decides on the institutional framework of Europe. It is high time that the youth has its say on democracy. It is time for change.

About the author:

MP1Prof. Dr. Manfred Pohl is the Founder and Chairman of Frankfurter Zukunftsrat, the think tank that organises “My Europe”. more…

Russia vs Ukraine

Ukraine is a country located between Russia and Europe. Since declaring independence in 1991, Ukraine has been a strongly divided country and this crisis is a result of major internal divisions. The population is divided between pro-Russian and pro-European. According to political scientist Leonid Peisakhin, Ukraine “has never been and is not yet a coherent national unit with a common narrative or a set of more or less commonly shared political aspirations.”
The crisis was initially an internal one, but then rapidly escalated to what is now the tensest situation between the US and Russia since the Cold War.

A look at the facts

In November 2013, President Viktor Yanukovych was offered a deal for a stronger integration with the EU, his rejection caused major mass protests, which he violently put down. Many Ukrainians wanted the deal, not only because they feel closer to Europe culturally, but mainly to save their weak and troubled economy. It was not only an economical deal, but also a political one. Protestors were mainly students and young people, trying to save their country, fight against corruption, make a change. This was the breaking point: Russia backed Yanukovych, while the US and EU backed the protesters. As protests continued and turned into anti-government protests, Yanukovych was forced to leave the country, seeking Russia’s support.

In the meantime, Russia wanted to reinforce its influence on Ukraine, so in March 2014 Russian troops slowly arrived in Crimea, a peninsula situated south of Ukraine and surrounded by the Black sea and the Sea of Azov, which used to be Russian territory.

A power struggle for Crimea

Crimea is in a strategical position, having 3 main ports on the Black sea and its territory has sparked fights for domination for centuries. On March 16, Crimeans voted for their region to become a part of Russia. Most of the world sees Crimea’s secession vote as illegitimate for various reasons: it was held under pressing Russian military occupation with no international monitoring and many reports of intimidation; it was pushed through with only a couple of weeks’ warning, and it was illegal under Ukrainian law. Still, legitimate or not, Crimea has effectively become part of Russia.

A draft UN investigative report found that critics of secession within Crimea were detained and tortured in the days before the vote; it also found “many reports of vote-rigging”.

US and EU united against Russia

The US and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Russia to punish Moscow for this, but there is no sign that Crimea will return to Ukraine. Russia’s sanctions have hit many of the EU’s agricultural states, especially the closest ones.
The Netherlands – the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural products – is set to lose 300 million euro annually from canceled business with Russia. Poland as well was hit hard by the Kremlin’s sanctions. Spain, a large exporter of oranges to Russia, is estimated to miss out on 337 million euro in food and agriculture sales, while Italy has estimated its losses at nearly 1 billion euro.

From the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, Russia feared losing influence on Ukraine and that their neighbors would fall under what Moscow sees as a Western conspiracy to surround Russia with inimical governments. It’s very difficult for many Russians to untangle their own history from Ukraine’s and accept the equality and legitimacy of the Ukrainian culture parallel to their own. Since April, pro-Russian rebels have been colliding with Ukrainian troops in the eastern part of the country, taking over government buildings and cities. Several Ukrainian military planes have been shot down and a Malaysian Airlines flight as well, killing more than 300 civilians. Of course, neither Kiev nor Moscow admitted taking part in the incidents.
These deaths attracted major attention; the world could not stand back and ignore the conflict anymore.

The Ukrainian response, especially a youth response

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced the start of “Project ‘Wall” in September, the building of a wall along its borders is a strong statement. Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine should be clear about who its enemy is, the former Soviet neighbor has become an “aggressor”.

The US has provided non- lethal aid (food, body armors, etc.) instead of weapons to Ukrainian forces. This is a strong affirmation of the US to avoid any further worsening of the situation.

Since March 2014, the Ukrainian government has sent letters to young men to invite them to join the army. Surprisingly, many young Ukrainians joined without second thoughts. Mainly the reason they had was helping restore law and order in Ukraine. We should certainly learn from these motivated young people protesting and ready to fight for their rights.
Hopefully the youth will stop the conflict and save Ukraine.

About the Author:

APicture Alessandra Maffettonelessandra (22) is Chairwoman of the Youth Council for the Future (YCF). She is involved with the “My Europe” Initiative since 2012.