Britain’s unstable political scene, the ominous prospects for its near future and Scotland’s insistence on independence and reunification with the European Union show one thing: the model of a sovereign country that goes beyond great unity is incompatible these days. with developments. A strong Britain that had remarkable energy and industrial production and a symbolic national healthcare system is now suffering from the consequences of Brexit. Its economic situation is worsening every day, the unity of the country is at stake, exports are declining, investments are sagging, waiting lists for health reasons reach 7 million patients …

In the European Union, accordingly, it was found that the pandemic crisis and the crisis in Ukraine were treated poorly. The red thread of events passed through Washington, Moscow and Beijing, bypassing the territory of the EU. The conclusion from all this suggests itself easily: if Europe wants to maintain its autonomy, it must be able to defend its interests in an international competition that will become more and more acute. And only its unification provides the necessary strength.

A significant obstacle to European integration is the rule of unanimity, which is necessary when making serious decisions. A total of 27 members unanimity is impossible, and therefore the EU seems weak in effectively solving problems. That is why a new decision-making process should be defined that would allow a strong majority – a “special majority” – to make decisions. Also logical is the possibility of creating groups of states in the mechanism of “enhanced cooperation” – outside the framework that is uniform for all. The task forces will be strong and focused on, among others, defense, immigration regulation, industrial policy, joint technology research and education.

Under the current system, a country must agree to vote on all issues and participate in all efforts to promote unification, even if it is not really interested. That is, she faces a choice: all or nothing. It would make more sense if membership in the Union were required on some key issues, but optional on some others. Participation, for example, in a single market should be mandatory, while participation in a single education system should be optional.

Today, as can be seen from the actions of the European Commission, a reform of the functioning of the Union is needed. The climate has changed under the pressure of international events. The Conference on the Future of Europe, which was convened in 2021 and continued throughout the year, has become an unprecedented European initiative in terms of scope and results. However, his decisions, despite the commitments of the European institutions, did not receive support.

So let’s take another look today at what needs to be done immediately: The main problem is the security of the member states of the Union. Europe is a “security alliance”. It is based on mutual assistance between member states supporting a common security and defense policy. But opinions differ on security policy. Will it be more or less identified with NATO or a European policy not primarily dependent on US cooperation with the Union? Germany and France are proposing a European Security Pact. There is already cooperation in the Union in the fight against terrorism, and Greece has paid lip service to the Security Union.

Asylum and immigration policy is a well-known issue that requires a unified approach. The principle of solidarity requires that the burden be distributed among Member States according to their capabilities. However, there are countries that strongly disagree, and their objections stand in the way of the generally accepted position. But, given the need to find immediate solutions, it is appropriate and possible for a group of Member States that feel a shared responsibility to start formulating a common policy. Greece will participate.

The most important step to ensure stability and growth is a unified response to economic problems, the development of “economic management”. Problems arise all the time because there is a single currency, but at the same time nineteen different public debts, nineteen tax systems competing with each other with nineteen different approaches to development. In countless statements and articles, politicians and economists have argued that an “economic government” or a “minister of finance” for the eurozone is needed. This new body should have the political power to coordinate economic and fiscal policies, enforce treaty rules, and deal with regional turmoil. Many also believe that the eurozone should have its own budget to support growth. The funds will come from, among other things, a percentage of the tax paid by enterprises to member states.

A total of 27 members unanimity is impossible, and therefore the EU seems weak in effectively solving problems.

The difficulties of jointly solving economic problems are due to the fact that the structure of the economies is different. Levels of development too, as well as how they react to events. Indicative is the fact that the decline in industrial activity in the period 2000-2017. was about 3% across the Union, with the exception of Germany, whose share remained unchanged at 20% growth in the total economic activity of the country. It should be noted that there is no unified industrial policy in the Union – with rare exceptions, i.e. against strong competition from China.

During the economic crisis in the period 2010-2014, some countries, such as Greece, could no longer pay their debts and were forced by the Union to pursue a stabilization policy, significantly limiting their spending. According to representatives of the Union, the crisis could have been dealt with more effectively if there had been a banking union and a single capital market. Of course, in Greece the crisis would have been noticeably more limited if the Greek government had not thoughtlessly increased the country’s deficit since 2007.

Different levels of development also imply differences in employment opportunities. According to the latest statistics, there are more unemployed and unskilled young people under the age of 25 in Southern Europe, which leads to their migration to more developed countries. In December 2018, the unemployment rate among youth under 25 was 39.5% in Greece, 32% in Italy, 32.6% in Spain and 6% in Germany.

The policy of the European Union must acquire a stronger social character. This requires its evolution. In other words, the transfer of resources from a developed center to a lagging region, the encouragement of investment in the fight against unemployment, the formation of a policy of social solidarity, which will be based on a common fiscal policy. The EU needs to change its model, since so far its course has been determined by the example of Germany – which insisted and insists on the absence of an expansionary fiscal policy, i.e. deficit in the budgets of member states.

It should also be noted that tax policies vary across the Union, resulting in a 29% reduction in income inequality in Western Europe, 23% in Southern Europe and only 15% in Eastern Europe.

In the current conditions, consolidation will be carried out gradually by regions. Existing gaps or development dynamics will lead to different levels of integration. The general network, which covers the entire Union, will have a different density by topic. The Common Agricultural Policy has been around for a long time. However, a unified tax policy has not yet been established. As a result, deviations and disproportions will be formed. Why, the whole system will be controlled by a single center, but in essence it will be controlled by the core of economically stronger states and will implement it as it sees fit. An example is the attitude towards the Chinese company Huawei, which introduces new communication technologies. The US decided to ban its activities in the US market. They asked Europe for a similar attitude. But Europe took a different path. At the initiative of Germany and France, he did not impose a ban, but by a decision of the European Parliament he determined the safety rules that must be observed when Huawei operates in the Union.

The European Union has clearly expressed its political will to form an integration framework. However, progress has been slow. Statements do not become actions. Alibis are provided by countries with conservative nationalist governments, such as Poland and Hungary, which cultivate a fear of alienation from national traditions.

The conclusion from the development of the Union and globalization so far is that the European peoples must steadily strive for the creation of a flexible European state and the symbiosis and synergy of their various national cultures. They must join forces if they want to be able to interfere in the agenda of world politics and solve global problems. Abandoning European integration would also mean the end of any influence they had on world history. Further integration is a sine qua non for the survival of the European Union.