Towards a stronger democracy post Covid-19
The pandemic has shaken our societies as well as given us a chance to rebuild a stronger Union and a stronger democracy.
/ By David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament
This article was originally published as part of the 2021 edition of Bled Strategic Times, the official gazette of the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) international conference. You can access the full version of this and other BSF publications by visiting our official website.
A thorough and frank reflection on the future of Europe has never been as timely as today. The numerous crises that have hit us over the past decade — from the financial crisis to the refugee crisis to Brexit — have already shown the urgent need to modernise our Union, to make it more resilient, more effective, more apt to the challenges of an increasingly complex globalised world.
Then came Covid-19.
The pandemic has shaken our societies, economies and democracies in an unprecedented way. And while it is impossible to foresee how it will change our world, it is clear that we cannot return to the old “normal”. The crisis has brutally exposed the challenges that we need to address — from the blatant social, gender and regional inequalities to the lack of competencies our Union has to tackle certain issues, most strikingly in the health sector. Ignoring these insights would be irresponsible but above all a wasted opportunity. This crisis, as devastating as it is, gives us the unique chance to heal certain mistakes and rebuild a stronger Union, which means, above all, a stronger democracy.
In my view, there are five aspects, which are key in this respect:
- Renew the democratic pact with our citizens
Being satisfied with just the exercise of the polls every five years is not enough for democracy to thrive and live up to its full potential. Especially now, as we are about to reconstruct our economies and our societies on new foundations and in view of the colossal investments that Europe will inject into public policies, it is more important than ever to renew the democratic pact with our citizens. We have to listen to their needs and expectations in terms of assistance, jobs, dignity, security, and prosperity. We have to understand their vision of our common European future.
The Conference on the Future of Europe is the ideal forum for this endeavour. The European institutions and member states will reach out to citizens from all walks of life and organise citizens’ panels to get them involved in their own future, it will gather representatives from all levels of governance to work together on an improved version of our European project.
I strongly believe that this innovative democratic exercise, complementary to our parliamentary democracy, will reinject the legitimacy and a sense of belonging to the EU that is needed these days. Needless to say, the Conference’s success will be conditional on translating citizens’ recommendations into concrete action. For this, we have the commitment of all European institutions and all member states, and the European Parliament will make sure to hold all stakeholders to their words.
In addition, the Conference could be a starting point to explore more regular citizens’ consultation mechanisms that have proven very useful.
2. Defend democracy against attacks
Democracy is not a given. It must be protected, strengthened, developed and legitimized, especially in times of crisis in which it is particularly vulnerable, as we have witnessed. Authoritarian regimes have tried to take advantage of the pandemic, to undermine the foundations of our system, oppress political opponents, curtail media freedoms and make people believe that democracies are ineffective and useless. Even democratic systems considered very strong and stable are not immune to such attacks, as the assault on the US Capitol at the beginning of this year has shown. And while it is reassuring to see the resilience of the US system, these events must be a warning to democrats all over the world.
We must not stand idle when our values are under threat. We must rise against the authoritarian lure and prove that representative democracy is the best guarantee for safeguarding our individual and collective freedoms, our dignity, the common good, peace, security, social progress and economic well-being. For this, it is crucial to lead by example, to live up to our values and defend them wherever they are under attack, especially within our Union. We must also intensify our efforts to fight misinformation, hate speech, and election interference, all of which pose a serious threat to our democracies.
Above all, we must put people and their needs first in order to prove that democracy, indeed, works for the many and not just a few, especially in times of crisis.
3. Work towards a fairer and more sustainable model of development
Inequalities risk fuelling distrust in our institutions. In order to strengthen trust in our democratic system, it is, therefore, crucial to fight for a fairer society, in which all women, men and children can live a decent and healthy life. In today’s world, this inevitably goes hand in hand with fighting climate change. Both are two sides of the same coin and have to be addressed together. We, therefore, have to put an end to the endless growth paradigm that has dominated our societies for too long. The notion that our planet was destined for unlimited expansion and that the world has infinite resources is long outdated — but the pandemic has made this even clearer. It has exposed the costs of this ideology, hitting especially hard the most vulnerable in our societies: the elderly, the isolated, women, young people and people with disabilities. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, existing inequalities have been drastically widened, not only within the Member States, but also between the Member States, revealing the potential for discord between the North and South, and East and West, with sharply differing economic realities, expectations and sensibilities.
The economic recovery gives us the chance to bridge these disparities. We must use the lever of the enormous economic resources that the EU will make available through the 750-billion-Euro Recovery Fund and the Multiannual Financial Framework not to go back to the past but to embark on a new path towards a fairer and more sustainable model of development.
4. Join forces for a more effective democracy
If the pandemic has shown one thing, it is certain that we have to stand together to tackle challenges that are inherently cross-border and will become more and more so in the future. When we acted together, we were strong. The best examples are our recovery package that will support our citizens and economies to deal with the consequences of the pandemic and our joint vaccination campaign that prevented “vaccine nationalism”. On the other hand, the difficulties that we encountered on the way mostly stemmed from an intergovernmental method of decision-making that can never banish the temptation to put national interests ahead of the community interest. It is an eternal truth, as Jacques Delors said, that ‘lack of solidarity is a mortal danger for Europe’ — and, one might add, a serious threat for democracy. To prove the effectiveness of democracy in the 21st century, we need to work together not only against the virus but equally so when it comes to climate change, security, tax evasion or immigration. When we start over, we must do it with an even stronger spirit of solidarity.
5. Improving the democratic toolbox of our Union
If we accept that only together can we tackle the challenges ahead of us, and that Europe is the right level of governance to address them, we must give the means to our institutions to offer comprehensive answers to our citizens. We have to strengthen our democratic toolbox in order to build a more resilient Europe. One of the most striking examples is the right of veto in the European decision-making process - an anachronism that stands in the way of rapid decision-making, as this crisis and the need for timely measures has demonstrated. The lack of competencies in the health sector is another example. We cannot be satisfied with putting out fires in such an emergency. Instead, the Union needs to be equipped with the necessary competencies to establish a true European health policy. Last but not least: in order for Parliament to better exercise its role, I believe it is pivotal to grant it a direct right of initiative to ensure an even more direct influence on the legislative process.
If all these reflections and those of our citizens involve an update of the Treaties, we must be courageous. We cannot afford to have taboos. There is no better time to make bold decisions for the good of our citizens and the future of our Union.
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