In a world in crisis, can Europe assert itself through its ‘values’?

Europe’s ‘geopolitical awakening’ in the face of the shocks to sovereignty in recent years has led to a prevailing view that we should now speak the realistic language of interests and power rather than the language of values, which is deemed idealistic. If it is clear that Europe must undertake a ‘geopolitical transition’ this must not lead Europeans to sacrifice their heritage and the ‘values’ that stem from it.

In his recent speech on receiving the Charlemagne Prize, Mario Draghi stated that “under the pressure of recent years, Europeans are remembering the values they had begun to take for granted: solidarity, democracy, the rule of law, the protection of minorities. These are the legacy of post-war Europe. And they are becoming visible again because they are being put to the test.

This is more powerful than any political programme, because it gives Europeans a reason to act. And citizens already have a clear idea of the direction Europe should take: nine out of ten people surveyed by Eurobarometer want the Union to act with greater unity; three-quarters want it to have more resources to tackle the challenges ahead”. A system of values is essential for building society and uniting a political community, particularly in the face of external threats.

The EU and its citizens are being targeted not only on the security and economic fronts but also on the ideological one, against a backdrop of attacks on the ‘values’ of our liberal democracies and our open economies. These ‘values’ are indeed being challenged today in Europe and elsewhere, not only under pressure from national-populist and extremist political forces in particular, but also outside the European Union, against a backdrop of the rise of authoritarian, dictatorial and totalitarian regimes across the world. These various internal and external challenges thus give a democratic opportunity in that they force us to defend the ‘values’ specific to Europeans.