Article originally published in English
At a time when the bloc’s institutions celebrate the presentation of the declaration by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman, 74 years ago, MEPs are expressing their concerns about the future political composition of the European Union, one month before the June elections.
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While EU institutions celebrate the founding of the bloc with Europe Day on Thursday, the Union is also preparing for its future in view of the European elections, scheduled for 6-9 June.
The anniversary is remembered in all the capitals of all Member States, on May 9th, the day of the historic speech that French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman gave in 1950 and which led to the founding of Europe’s economic and political union.
In Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, citizens were invited to visit EU institutions that opened their doors to the public to celebrate the occasion.
The celebrations take place at a time when the European Union continues to prepare for one of the most important elections in its history as a bloc.
The June elections will be held in times of ongoing crises on the continent, which is facing war in Ukraine, climate emergencies and fundamental questions about the scope and objective of the bloc itself.
The 27 countries of the European Union, with 450 million inhabitants, will choose 720 MEPs to serve them over the next five years.
“Existential struggle” on the horizon
Carlo Wolter, an 18-year-old German, said he is voting because he belongs to the next generation of European voters, who are shaped by politics. “Our opinion counts for what should happen in the future,” he said.
The results of the European elections will also indicate whether the continental political drift will follow the shift to the right registered across the world, from Argentina to Indonesia and Slovakia.
“It will be an existential struggle,” said Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian prime minister and outgoing Liberal MP.
“The far-right parties are clearly influenced by Russia and China. [Não querem reforçar a Europa. São uma receita para uma Europa fraca. E uma Europa fraca será destruída”, afirmou.
O eurodeputado italiano Nicola Procaccini (Irmãos de Itália, ECR) afirmou que a atual composição do Parlamento Europeu oscila demasiado à esquerda, mas acredita que é possível “avançar para a direita”.
“Os movimentos de centro-direita estão a avançar”, afirmou Procaccini.
Os desenvolvimentos geopolíticos dos últimos anos também levaram a que os Estados-Membros europeus reavaliassem os esforços de defesa.
“Não são os Estados-Membros individuais que vão proteger os cidadãos”, afirmou Verhofstadt.
“Precisamos absolutamente de uma união europeia de defesa para nos protegermos contra a Rússia, por exemplo, e certamente num mundo onde talvez [o antigo Presidente dos EUA, Donald] Trump is back in the White House.”
