Friday, July 6, 2012

Taking Questions: Jean-Francois Cope



Question: How can public opinion be reflected in European governance and government?

Answer: It's difficult to bring public opinion into a global vision or strategy - individual leaders don't have the right to decide globally and it is easy to say "blame Brussels." It is by very small steps, but the only way to get people to trust again in the future is to get people to believe and talk about competitiveness: this is the way to use the best in Europe, and the best in Europe is its people. They have to be part of a new strategic vision.

Question: Will we be able to get on the road to competitiveness without continuing the single market and despite the differences within Europe? What is wrong with a federal system?  The US has differences between Massachusetts and Mississippi and it still has a unified economy.

Answer: The US was built from nothing - what was Mississippi like in the 19th century? It is easy to build from a new landscape. This is not the case in Europe. There is a psychological dimension to this challenge, and we are not all focused on a single European state.  I think the main priority is not to say "federalism or nothing," but that we find efficient public policies working with 5, 10, 11 countries rather than to stop until we have a federal system. We have to launch and implement some public policies before this.

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