The transfusion of global developments in the Greek context is at the centre of ELIAMEP’s activities, as a think tank equally active in the Greek and the European space. This year, 2008, marked the twentieth anniversary from the foundation of ELIAMEP, which was celebrated on the 22nd of October, on the occasion of the Annual Lecture, a long-standing activity organized by the institution. This year’s lecture was delivered by Professor Mario Monti, President of Bocconi University in Milan and former European Commissioner who focused on “The Challenges Facing Europe and the Role of Think Tanks”. The lecture was preceded by the speech of ELIAMEP’s President, Prof. Loukas Tsoukalis on “The War of Ideas and the Role of ELIAMEP”.
Greece ranks today in the 24th position in the list of the UN Human Development Index, featuring among the most advanced countries. However this degree of development together with the fast pace of social and political changes taking place in the world, is not always adequately reflected in the mode of governance and the state institutions; while the people is increasingly disengaged from Politics. This phenomenon, however, is not only confined in Greece. On the contrary, according to Prof. Loukas Tsoukalis, it constitutes the source of the battle “of power and ideas that now takes a new turn after the resent political and economic developments”.
The development of the financial crisis has been the most recent challenge Europe has been called to face. In contrast to the ‘constitutional crisis’ which followed the Irish ‘No’ vote, this time the EU responded, not so quickly maybe, but efficiently, in a way that according to the New York Times surpassed the US. This efficiency was a “high moment of politics” and the result of an impetus of activism by the European Council headed by France under the presidency of Nikolas Sarkozy.
This coincidence, however should not be disregarded as it demonstrates the importance of empowering the European institutions. Arguably, as Prof. Mario Monti underlined, the immediacy of response cannot be based on lack – if the Czech Republic was holding the presidency it would have been unable to hold a summit for the heads of States in the Eurozone as it does not belong to it yet. Response should stem from organized procedures and institutions. As in the past of EU integration, crisis has once again brought the sense of urgency essential to overcome different national perspectives. Political impetus should therefore become an instrument for further progress and the advancement of the European rules and processes. If the opposite were to happen, it would risk the gradual deconstruction of the system of trust built between the Member-States, given that European rules place all members on an equal platform, and ultimately the weakening of the EU.
In the upcoming period, the financial crisis will also bring forward a larger question, associated to the efficiency and value of market economy in its entity. Indeed while there is a need for more government intervention in the finance sector in particular, governments should not throw away the huge investments and reforms that have rendered domestic markets more flexible and competitive and safeguard social equity. In this respect, globalization indeed poses a challenge. That is the unsustainable effects of unequal income distribution and the weakness of governments to respond to the needs of the ‘temporarily losers of globalization’. The EU and its institutions should therefore function as a vehicle for further cooperation in developing a coordinated tax policy on the European level and an example for the construction of a global system of governance, the necessity of which is evident today more than ever.
In such a system the work of ELIAMEP together with other think tanks, organizing and analyzing political thought on European developments, will be critical and increasingly important in the process of European governance.