The President of the Assembly of the Republic argues that, despite the challenges and crises over the last decades, “Citizens continue to believe in the European project, they continue to believe in the values that gave rise to Europe.”
The President of the Assembly of the Republic considers that the European project is stagnant in many dimensions, looking more like an administrative machine than a political project, and needs clear ideas, strong leaders and change.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic argues that, despite the challenges and crises over the last decades, “Citizens continue to believe in the European project, they continue to believe in the values that gave rise to Europe.”
“It is therefore important that European leaders are up to citizens, who fear more immobilism than change, who can inspire and mobilize, to create new solutions within the European project, otherwise citizens go to another place,” he warns.
In this context, leaves an appeal: “We need, today as 40 years ago, of clear ideas and strong leaders. We increasingly need Europe. “
“Europe looks more like an administrative machine than a political project”
In his article, the former social democratic minister points out that Europe “It spends too long to deconstruct your own past, to look at it critically, or to problematize the way you should welcome other cultures-while forgetting to value yours, to estimate and enhance European identity, without wokisms or extremism.”
According to José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, “Europe looks more like an administrative machine than a political project. “
“It is unfolded in regulations, analysis, opinions. It suffers at the same time of a decision crisis,” he says, before proposing a set of concrete changes in the current European line.
For the President of the Assembly of the Republic, rather than discussing the advantages of free trade, the European Union needs to celebrate new commercial agreements.
“More than alarming ourselves with the ecological and energetic crisis, we need to find new sources of European and green energy; rather than regulating large technological, we need to create conditions for these companies to emerge in European soil; more than theorizing about future expansion or institutional reforms, we need to make decisions and make it happen. We are in many dimensions of the European project,” he warns.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco states that the last widening of the European Union “It was 12 years ago and the last profound discussion about the reform of the institutions was 18 “.
“The European economy slows down, our agriculture and our industry has difficulty. We have difficulty innovating, leading technological progress, preserving our diplomatic prestige and increasing our defensive capacity,” he criticizes.
“The Portuguese like the European project”
From the perspective of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, today, when they mark 40 years since the signing of the Portuguese adhesion treaty to the European communities, “It’s a good occasion to, 40 years later, talk about the European project – what it is, what it has been, what it should be.”
“The Portuguese are a European people, one of the most Europeist in the Union. They were already in 1985 and today they continue to be. This is what the latest data of the Eurobarometer, published this year,” he says.
A data that leads you to draw the conclusion that “The Portuguese like the European project”.
“Not only because of the advantages that Europe gives us, not the community funds, the Erasmus program or the facilities of Schengen space. We like the European project because it allows us to be part of something larger,” he says.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco states that it is concerned with the European idea to build a common project.
“The dream of uniting, to overthrow suspicions and fears, to build together a future of development, growth, democracy and peace. It was to this dream that we adhere, convinced, 40 years ago. It is to this dream that we remain linked. It is therefore important to remember the essentials,” he adds.
