The President of ELIAMEP, Professor Loukas Tsoukalis, was invited by the Chairman of the European Peoples Party (EPP), Mr Manfred Weber, to speak to the Euro-parliamentarians of the EPP at their meeting in Crete on 28 September. Loukas Tsoukalis spoke about the end of an era and the terrible war in Ukraine coming at the tail end of a succession of crises. He stressed the need for the EU to have a stronger centre and to adjust to a world where strategic concerns take increasing precedence over efficiency considerations, while the emphasis shifts more towards the provision of public goods, notably social cohesion, the greening of economies and, last but not least, defence. He spoke in favour of gradually doing away with veto rights in taxation as well as foreign and security policy. In some cases, coalitions of willing and able countries leading the way may be the only realistic way forward as happened before with both the euro and Schengen. It’s time for Europe to become a political adult.
The new book of Loukas Tsoukalis, Europe’s Coming of Age, will be published on 14 October.
