EU must seek common action rather than national solutions to problems, experts say

A discussion focusing on the European Union’s neighbourhood policy and the Mediterranean region was dominated by a discussion on why it is important for member states to fight the urge to focus solely on national solutions to the many challenges being faced by member states. 

The discussion was organised by Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), as part of a two-day pre-Presidency conference as Malta prepares to take over the Presidency of the European Council in January.

The panel discussion focused on challenges being faced by the EU with regards to economic policy, environmental and energy strategy as well as security and stability.

The panel for the discussion included Hanna Ojanen, Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on European Politics, Stefano Mallia, vice-president of the employers’ group in the European Economic and Social Committee, and Manfred Weissenbacher, Professor at the Institute for Sustainable Energy University of Malta

With the global community still coming to terms with the surprise result of the United States presidential election, Ojanen began her talk by saying from a social science perspective it has become important now more than ever, to try to start understanding what people’s aspirations are in life.

“Only by doing so can one get a good understanding of why people choose to leave their home in search for a better life, or why they vote the way they do,” said Ojanen.

She said that currently EU member states have a lot in common, especially when it comes to matters of security and migration, however paradoxically, she said, we are seeing countries looking for increasing national solutions to problems.

From a security perspective, she said that there is currently a lot of uncertainty, this a real consideration when assessing moves made by Russia for example, and it could potentially become a factor in the EU’s relationship with the United States, she said.

Ojanen described how it can be challenging for Northern European states to relate and therefore prioritise certain issues that are more relevant to Southern European countries. She said that one of the challenges for the Finish presidency was that of finding a balance between regional concerns and the concerns of other parts of the EU that are geographically, further away.

To be a credible international player, Ojanen said that the EU must show that from within, it is driven by the same principles and philosophies, adding many issues require a European wide approach.

“European security is largely created from within, and not so much about interaction with neighbouring countries,” she said.

This was echoed by Stefano Mallia, who said that despite the fact that there is a push for a more national approach to problem solving, certain problems just cannot be solved without a collective effort. He stressed that challenges such as those related to the management of fish stocks, and the environment in general and those related to security simply cannot be solved with an isolationist approach.

Mallia who was speaking about the economic dimension of EU policy, said that given the recent US election results, as well as the Brexit result, it was clear that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way the EU, and the global political establishment in general, is operating.

“We have had difficulty passing the CETA agreement which for all intents and purposes, was a relatively straightforward deal. At times, policy makers in Europe tend to speak and act from a distance without necessarily being too aware of what the situation is on the ground,” he said.

Turning to the Mediterranean, Mallia said that the EU’s focus on it could be described as having been “on and off” in the past and because of this, results have been limited.

Manfred Weissenbacher focused on the Energy demands of the EU and certain facets that are specific to the Mediterranean. He pointed out that the EU is the largest importer of energy in the world and that therefore, EU policy in this regard is very much focused on diversification of sources.

He said that with Europe’s limited supply of energy it is important to focus as much as possible on the renewable energy sources as well as on finding good and stable alternatives. Europe’s current energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels, with oil and natural gas making up 37% and 22% respectively.

Natural gas, he added, is expected to increase to about 80% over the next ten years however warned that the industry is an expensive one and said that it remains to be seen whether the increase will happen as projected.

On the Mediterranean, he said that while there were sources of gas in the eastern Mediterranean, there were a number of considerations related to where pipelines should pass through. One option, he said, was having the pipeline pass through Turkey, however this would entail giving the country more leverage on EU matters.

Weissenbacher also pointed out that with populations in the eastern and southern Mediterranean growing, it is essential that any energy policy take into account how the demand for energy will increase over time.