FIESOLE – “Do you know what the problem is? We take the so-called values of Europe for granted, but this is not the case. When the Union was born we said that our values were freedom, democracy, rights and so on. Since then we have imagined that there are two fronts: on the one hand there are us, on the other the dictatorial regimes, Muslims and extremists or the like. But this is not the case: in the Old Continent we do not share all the same values at all. But this is never discussed. That’s why experiences like this at Badia Fiesolana are important. Because it is crucial to really take stock of what European values are, and how to share them “.
Climate, work, agriculture: citizens from all over Europe in Fiesole to design the future of the EU
by Roberto Brunelli
Olivier Roy broadens into a contagious smile as we speak in the sacristy of the Renaissance church around which the Conference on the Future of Europe, where hundreds of citizens (in terms of language it seems to have returned to post-revolutionary France) elaborate recommendations to be submitted to the European Parliament and the Commission. Professor at the European University Institute and holder of the Mediterranean Chair at the Robert Schumann Center for Advanced Studies, the great French political scientist tries to make some order in the chaos of ideas produced here on the Florentine hills.
Professor, it seems that the European Union must continually rethink its foundations. Currently the challenge comes from Poland and Hungary, with attacks on the rule of law and on European values …
“Wait a moment. Do we really share the same values on the continent? No. Not only at the borders of the European construct, also at its center. If we listen to the bishops, they do not share, for example, the values on abortion, on procreation, on gay marriage. Many Catholics, as well as not a few evangelicals, do not think the same way about feminism or the gender debate. But we never discuss this in Europe. From this we must start over. Otherwise we only run empty ”.
Guy Verhofstadt: “After Brexit, populists no longer speak of ‘exit’. For the EU it is time for a turning point”
by Roberto Brunelli
There is also another basic problem, professor: in these days here at the Badia it has been repeated like a mantra that it is necessary to regain the trust of citizens in Europe.
“What is at stake is the level of debate between the people. So far, people have had two ways to express themselves: elections and polls. Well, frankly, I don’t trust most polls: they are inefficient and often too political-influenced by the way the questions are asked. For example, no poll in France in 20 years has been able to predict the president. Not even once”.
What do you mean by this?
“That we don’t really know what people think. We believe that they are obsessed with migrants, with Islam, with identity: but in fact, is this true or not? Here’s the first positive thing here at the Badia: people speak in their own way and not through categories created by politicians or the polling business. They can say what they want, and they have to speak in front of someone, not on the Internet. On the net you don’t see the people you talk to: they are not real individuals, but an abstract humanity, with the consequence that you feel entitled to express horrible things. And it doesn’t even mean that you will actually do the things you say on the Internet. Instead here it is a return to real life, because when you are in front of real people you try to understand, you have the perception what the feeling of the person in front of you is. Of course, the question now is what the politicians will do with all of this. Unfortunately experience says they only take what they like, they don’t really listen. They pay more attention to their pierre, to their advisers, with the result that the elites end up freezing the problems. But it is essential to work to get out of the bubble “.
What is the platform of the Conference for the Future of Europe and how does it work
by Daniele Castellani Perelli
Some hope comes from young people. Here you see a lot of them. What is their contribution?
“It is very important. In the meantime, for obvious reasons, because they are the future. But also in more concrete terms: let’s take climate change. Young people are much more concerned, they take it seriously and are ready to make it a priority, which is not necessarily the case for previous generations. In general, they are much more open when it comes to open values, from gender to feminism. If anything, the problem is that they are not politically involved, because they don’t trust them. In my opinion it is a mistake, this is the reason why politicians do not listen to them, because they think that young people will not vote in the next elections ”.
There are other innovations underway in Europe, starting with Germany. There are those who think that the government of Olaf Scholz after sixteen years of Merkelism represents a turning point …
“The new German executive certainly reflects the change taking place in Europe. At the oath we saw important political leaders not expressing their religion explicitly: it is the first time, it is certainly an important step in the process of secularization in Europe. Then there is the affirmation of the Greens: they show that they take politics seriously, as opposed to what the French Greens do, who just talk about foie gras and these things here. I consider it a good sign for the future ”.
This time the EU starts from the bottom
by our correspondent Claudio Tito
Professor, you are one of the major European Islamists. Impossible not to ask her about the Bataclan trial. The 2015 massacre was an immense shock. What has changed since then?
“It was the peak of the season of Islamic terrorism. Now almost nothing happens. Every now and then someone armed with a knife attacks a policeman in the street, but there is no demonstration, no reaction, nothing. I think it was a generational phenomenon: the terrorists of the past years were characters around the age of 20, more or less all of the same age and with the same attitudes. The ongoing process represents a turning point, we are closing the chapter. But I warn you: we still don’t know which one is next ”.
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