On behalf of all of us, Minister, welcome.
We are keenly aware of your presence.
We are delighted that you have come to conclude today's programme.
The whole of today's programme was marked by the desire of the European Economic and Social Committee and all of Europe's Economic and Social Councils to reflect on how to mobilise civil society and overcome the breakdown of democracy. It was prepared for by a survey conducted of 18 National Councils and a study conducted by the Robert Schuman Foundation.
I should like to thank the teams of the European Committee, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, and also the Robert Schuman Foundation and Jean-Dominique Giuliani who carried out this preparatory work and helped to design these very high quality round tables.
The day's programme began with an analysis by Professor Perrineau demonstrating a discrediting of politics in the eyes of public opinion that is unprecedented since the war. This discrediting is turning into contempt. But contempt is never very far from love, and we
gave thought to the conditions that would allow people to fall in love with politics again.
2013 was a sombre year, marked by a number of political scandals that left citizens even more incredulous. Citizens are developing the ability to come to terms with the death of the political-administrative system. Indeed, citizens think that elected representatives defend their privileges and the defunct system instead of defending the citizens themselves. Citizens observe the strategies used by politicians to gain power whilst their own future is disregarded.
This schism is now of such proportions that it could lead to scenarios occurring that until recently we though were impossible.
We all thought that in France there was a glass ceiling that prevented a party such as the Front National to assume an institutional role. This gave republican parties a sense of nonchalance that must be condemned. Today, nobody can be sure that the Front National is not capable of achieving a majority in some regions and in some departments. Some absolutely unimaginable scenarios, for example the breaking apart of the Eurozone, are currently front and centre in many debates.
I must confess that I offered, to no avail, three republican parties in January 2014, the chance to come and debate in this palace of the Republic, as our elected representatives have very eruditely debated today, on issue that are central to the populist dynamic: Should we leave the Eurozone? Should we oppose immigration?
Should we implement an Energy Union? Are the States capable of pooling the exercise of their national interests?
These questions are relevant as no State today can defend an autonomous energy policy and European energy policy offers formidable potential for new geopolitical power. It is also clear that Europe needs 50 million additional workers, a large
proportion of whom will be of foreign origin, by the 2050s, and this raises the problem of integration, and potential identity clashes. If we fail to take charge of this issue, we will be encouraging certain politicians to stoke the fires of xenophobia, exclusion and despair.
The responses of the three political parties have been:
• Firstly: "Don't worry Jean Paul the Front National is ahead".
• Secondly: "Let's not talk about vexatious issues".
• Thirdly: "Our concern is to have book-ends to win over the electorate".
The time for such cynicism, for illusionist and seductive strategies is now over. As you have all said: our fellow citizens no longer wish to believe in and be given false hopes by speeches. They want concrete steps, approaches and visions. Political debates must stop. We do not suffer from an excess of politics, but rather from an excess of political calculation. We do not suffer from too much Europe, but rather from not enough Europe.
But that also means that citizens must also uphold their end of the bargain. Are they prepared to vote for politicians who tell the truth during electoral campaigns?
Are they prepared to pool national interests because they will be upheld at the European level? Currently, challenges on so great a scale require responses on an equivalent scale, and global governance requires continental responses, be these American, Asian, African or European.
Today, another question asked was: Is the democratic system the best political system to manage crises and accompany change?
Is it up to the task of soothing an anxious society? Can it bring about debate on goals rather than on causes, those political dramas in all our countries where any change runs up against vested interests? The response given was that there is a vital need for the system to change, and to open up in order
to respond to these challenges. There can be no living democracy, even where politicians are competent and take decisions that are often intelligent, if the concerns have not been appropriated by the population. For this to occur, we must re-envisage how the people are represented, as Parliaments are only a part of this. We are fortunate enough to have high-quality MPs – as the last round table has shown, and as we have just heard.
But where are they in the media? They are ignored; they are only seen when European elections come round.
The population will not endorse change if it fails to see the point or the importance of that change, or the direction and approach for change. I will always remember something General de Gaulle said: "When the French believe a cause is great, they do great things, and when they don't, they do little things".
I think that young people, with their eagerness for Europe, are commendable.
The European Youth Movement met over a thousand young people here on 9 May.
They spoke of an extraordinary Europe that they believe in. Europe will not be built unless it offers hope to young people of a better future. Their revolt, and their anger are formidable political opportunities, signs of energies that demand to be mobilised.
When there is no longer anger or revolt, the people are laid low and as Plato stated, that is when democracy becomes dictatorship.
These young people are mobilised, and they bring a certain freshness to this palace, where they are continually being given the floor. The world is their horizon and Europe is their continent because it is a project that interests them.
Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads.
Will we be capable of rediscovering the ambition of this great cause that is Europe?
Not in terms of its budgetary aspect, it's not about saving the banks, it's about saving
a societal system in which the individual is reassured in case of misfortune by a collective contract of solidarity. We are united by a profound, deeply rooted culture that gives us a strong identity, enabling us to embrace the difference of the other.
We are built upon common values, and today, we are being torn apart by short-term national and financial interests. Europe is our future but all we talk about are our national presents. The higher role and duty of politics is to transform this community of conflicts into a community of interests - Europe.
The spirit that presided over the last round table of the day that brought together Members of the European Parliament was exemplary in this regard.
It saw politicians exchanging what were sometimes divergent political convictions whilst at the same time having respect for one another.
Minister, you have before you a formidable work in progress, and energy to mobilise, that of the European edifice, and you are lucky enough to be able to draw upon committed Members of Parliament who articulate responsible and respectful ideas. You can also count on Europe's Economic and Social Councils, which are ready to mobilise citizens around this dynamic and particularly around this new hope. From time to time, we absolutely need to have republican meetings on Europe and the Economic and Social Councils are standing by to facilitate this.
As long as the hope for the future is outweighed by the pain of what is lost, we will not be able to move citizens. The "Philae"
lander demonstrated that when Europeans come together and pool their intelligence, they are capable of being the best in the world and of inspiring our dreams. Minister, allow us to dream of Europe along with you.