°°° Abstract: Here
is the first synthetic message (another will follow) of our discussions
and topics discussed as well as some suggestions of orientation of
the discussion.
We will analyze in this message the following topics discussed: democratic
governance notion; States-Nations and globalization; Europe and world;
European Constitution.°°°
1) democratic governance
The concept of governance doesn't
please some, especially it seems that it is the subject of different
interpretations and that its definition is not clear.
My interpretation (in Italian,
my mother tongue, the word doesn't exist) is the following: action
to manage, to direct, to orient, to solve a problem in its complexity
through a multiplicity of contributions, autonomous but consistent,
done by a plurality of actors that pursues their interests and assume
their responsibilities in a setting of active subsidiarity.
I believe that we should come back
on the concept of governance and on the one of subsidiarity to verify
if, out of it, we could not get some suggestions for the articulation
of the levels of power (Townships, Regions, States, Europe) that
is to say for the forms and levels of participation of the citizens
and the organized civil society.
2) states-nations and globalization
It doesn't make any doubt that
the globalization of the economy (external factor) reduce the power
of the States. Therefore, their role of mediation of the conflict
interest between citizens and redistribution of wealth produced,
becomes always less important. Precisely someone has mentioned that
it doesn't allow us to be considered that the political powers and
the roles of the States are or will disappear. What was not the
subject of an analysis, it is the possibility of recuperation of
power of the political action against the globalized economy through
the construction of a continental level government.
The other element of reduction
of the power of the States (internal factor) is the tendency to
the transfer of power to the lower administrative level (Townships,
Province/Departments, Regions) in the form of federalization of
the state. This tendency can produce a growth of the democracy,
if one remains in a diagram of cooperative and socially responsible
subsidiarity.
This tendency did create the idea, among political intellectuals
experts, of an Europe of the Regions that frightens the States -
nations stronger and centralized.
The hypothesis of an European Federation,
composed of federal national states, without a single model, enabling
a circulation of the powers at several levels, based on the active
subsidiarity principle, could be discussed.
3) Europe and the World
Someone has recalled to us that
we cannot debate on the Europe that we want without taking into
account some that Europe is part of the world and that it would
be, of all ways, determined by the evolution of the world tendencies.
It could be interested therefore to orient them, and especially
to give its contribution to the completion of the necessary (and
even urgent) world governance.
4) European Constitution
This topic was often present but
in an indirect way. One realizes that each among us thinks about
the different aspects of a Constitution (legal aspects, founding
principles, rights and duties of the citizens, definition of the
roles and the powers of the different levels of governance, etc.).
In an apparently contradictory
way, one affirms that these are not the peoples that write the constitutions
(which is true) but, at the same time, one expresses a requirement
for popular participation, of the aware citizens, of the social
actors; to define what kind of Europe we want.
Personally, I think that if the objective of writing a Constitution
was registered in the European political agenda, civil society,
the organization of citizens could launch a broad discussion more
easily on ** the Europe that we want**, therefore the need of a
citizens participation to the definition of the main elements to
register in the Constitution.
In a second and last message, I
will present the other topics that were considered in our discussions.
°°° Abstract: It is
the second and last message of summary of our discussions.
We will analyze in this message the following topics considered: European
charter of the fundamental rights; national rights and European right;
European public opinion; passion, imaginary European, motivating project.°°°
1) European charter of the fundamental rights
The majority of the intervening
people on this topic denounces especially its insufficiency for
the social rights. The return of the social rights to the national
legislations produced two shortcomings: a subsidiarity without cooperation
and solidarity on the one hand and the risk to draw the national
right downwards on the other hand in some country members.
It is a retraction to send back
in the time the definition of the European Constitution.
The methodology followed for its definition is contested: the actors
of the civil society were not challenged; an action of legal lobby
is not enough, it is necessary to associate to it a political fight
about a setting of rules of social order, on the promotion of public
policies.
2) National rights and European right
The legal work of constitutional
order must affirm and must clarify the rights whose union European
asks for the respect in every country and the specific European
rights that complete and support the national rights. An intervening
party's affirmation, that one can shared completely, puts indirectly
in evidence the problem of the unity of the rights for all European
citizens, while protecting the diversity of the rights of the countries
members, as long as they are consistent with the European right.
As we already told it about the
Charter of the fundamental rights, the problem is not only a legal
alchemy question but essentially a political alchemy question. Once
again, non must wonder what can be the participation and the pressure
of the civil society.
3) European public opinion
The absence of an European public
opinion is surely the most important element of the weakness of
the European political project. It cannot be built by decree and
it needs time.
Who have interest and feels enough
responsible to work on its construction?
The political parties, the unions, the medias, the universities,
the civil society must be in general active actors.
What can be and must be the role of the active citizens to stimulate
the other actors towards this direction?
It is one of the questions on which we should think and come to
indicate a precise strategies (possible Alliance between organizations
and social movements, networks of radios, of newspapers, setup of
campaigns on events such as on the "the mad cow", etc.).
4) Passion, European imaginary, rallying project
The conducted unification process
slowly leads, drawed by the economic, the Single market, the currency
debate do not entailed, among the European citizens, a passion for
this project, neither a collective European imaginary.
Could the discussion on the European
Constitution be the release of passion and could it constitute a
rallying project? On this question, the people who intervening are
very devided between them on the "no", the "yes"
and the doubts, but there is a wide consensus on the need for a
rallying project.