Tuesday 9 May 2023

Quo vadis, Europa? (2)


Today is Europe day and next Saturday I intend to speak at the 50th European Young Engineers (EYE) conference. This may surprise you as I am not so young anymore at 58 years old. European Young Engineers is a very dynamic engineering association which I was fortunate to be one of the founding members of, back in 1994. When EYE started, we could not imagine the UK ever to leave the European Union. We could not imagine countries like Hungary and Poland to be reluctant to adopt certain European guidelines in relation to fundamental human rights such as the separation of the political powers.

I am not suggesting one or the other EU member nation is right or wrong I am just considering the fact there was no doubt at the beginning and that there is a great degree of doubt today. Europe has become too much of an administrative power and did not get decently into the hearts of everybody. Moreover a general fear of globalisation originated. It happened because the European construction was too much oriented towards unification of markets and free competition. Europe suggested a commissioner of free competition could bring fairness in European markets but this is impossible as long as member states conduct their own fiscal and social policy.

The truth is European construction is incomplete and we need more Europe not less Europe. Above all, we need a new generation of European politicians who see beyond the daily struggle and who are prepared to fight for the general European interest, not for their own survival. We may find good candidates for this new generation among European young engineers.

I refer to my earlier blog Europe, quo vadis?

Picture: Market Square Sankt Pölten, Austria

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