Autonomie e Ambiente (Autonomies and Environment)
Reflections on the sidelines of the announced #ReArmEU plan (original Italian)
1) The dramatic reality of the current political moment is the European Union has not conceived a common foreign policy and, even worse, neither the Second Commission Ursula von der Leyen, nor the 27 heads of state and government, nor the heads of other European countries members of NATO, have a popular mandate to develop one, despite their apparent respect for the treaties.
2) Neither the traditional Atlanticism of most member states, nor the historic neutrality of some of them, are any longer adequate to the complexity of the times. The principles of peaceful coexistence established in Helsinki in 1975 can still be a source of inspiration, but patient work of updating will be necessary and we do not have common democratic institutions with the authority and competence necessary to carry it forward.
3) In this context, no one can forget the military expenditure of the European Union is already higher than Russian Federation’s one, and therefore among the highest in the world. When we will get to seriously coordinate them, in an ideal security community, they will have to decrease, not increase.
4) We do not need new military expenses, but a common foreign policy, built democratically, in the interest of Europe, of all its peoples, of its regions, of its territories, as well as to promote peace, justice, self-government for all and everywhere, starting with
a) the bloodily disputed provinces in the terrible Russian-Ukrainian war;
b) the ethnic and cultural minorities that are still threatened or have even been wiped out, as happened to the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh);
c) the nations and minorities that are, even today in the 21st century, ignored or even oppressed within the centralism of states.
5) This is not the time to build the European house from the roof, rather than from the foundations. The coalitions of the “willing” (and the aspiring “Napoleons” of Europe) have already done enough damage in our European past. There is no need for rushes forward, such as the sudden descent from above of the plan called “ReArmEU”, an investment of 800 billion Euros, suddenly announced by President Von der Layen, without informing the only bodies that have some representation of the whole of Europe, namely the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions.
6) Spending more on weapons without knowing what to do with them, is worse than adventurous, it is counterproductive for us Europeans, for our cohesion, for our security and for that of our neighbor Ukraine after the now imminent armistice comes into force.
7) These critical reflections are made available for all the components of “Autonomie e Ambiente” and, if deemed useful, for our European political family EFA, so that they may be a stimulus to the development of a common political and geopolitical culture, remaining respectful of our political and cultural diversity.
Rome, 12 March 2025 - Gandhi’s Salt March Anniversary
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