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However, the problem appears to be different for people in central and eastern Europe. Rather than pointing to a feeling of marginalisation, their lukewarm pro-Europeanism today may, to the contrary, reflect a newly acquired self-confidence.
That would not be bad at all — if only it did not coincide with a growing xenophobia, which tends to face limited political opposition in these countries.
We better start dealing with the blind spots now
In our new annual study of the “European sentiment,” we suggest that there’s a common thread to these three “blind spots”. They are pointing to the same major threat for the European project — which is about the EU’s emerging drift towards an “ethnic”, rather than “civic”, understanding of Europeanness.
Thus, the “voicelessness” of non-white and Muslim inhabitants risks further marginalising the perspectives of these groups — allowing xenophobia to flourish in the EU’s language, policy and outlook.
The unchallenged ethnocentrism of central and eastern European governments and politicians risks further normalising such attitudes in that region and in the rest of the EU.
And if young Europeans grow up in such a suffocating atmosphere, some of them may get educated into a xenophobic outlook, while others could reject the EU that they would see as standing for values that are not theirs.
This is why we call on all those who want Europe to thrive to take three types of action.
First, they need to insist on the EU, its member states and political parties to build — or unclog — the channels of participation in Europe for the different parts of its population, thus allowing the EU to recover its capacity of representing its constituent public.
Secondly, they need to press on European politicians to resist the electoral or strategic temptation of playing with an “ethnic” conception of Europeanness, which only further legitimises xenophobic language and policy.
And thirdly, they need to strive to fill the “civic” conception of Europeanness with content if it is supposed to offer an alternative. This requires showing that the EU can be a successful force of delivery on the economy, security, climate change, and — yes — migration, too.
The currently self-absorbed Brussels would better get the message. If we postpone honest conclusions to the next elections in 2029, the European drama may indeed enact its final act.
André Wilkens is Director of the European Cultural Foundation, and Pawel Zerka is Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 08:08:00
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