by Monnet Matters The last years of José Manuel Barroso’s presidency were marked, among other things, by a very unfair and antidemocratic position towards some European Union member states. Brussels tried to interfere in the domestic affairs of EU members. We experienced this in Greece since the country applied for support to the European Commission and then to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We experienced the same position, with the same arguments, in the case of the Scottish independence referendum. The arguments in both cases have a German aroma and are marked by strict economic aspects, but this is not the point. This wasn’t of course the first time the European House tried to interfere in an EU country’s domestic affairs. We can remember, for instance, when Brussels informed Hungary that a possible participation of the far right party of Istvan Csurka (now an advisor of the Hungarian prime minister) could block the European future of Hungary. In another case, Brussels used very severe language addressing Austria when the far-right party of the late Jorg Haider enjoyed successful electoral scores. But the official explanation for these interferences at the time was that there was a deep concern for democracy and democratic values. Now the case is different. The way the EU and some member states are treating the upcoming parliamentary elections in Greece is unprecedented. The declarations made by many politicians in Brussels and elsewhere seem to be dictating to the Greek citizens who to vote for. In the event that they will make the “wrong” choice at the ballot box, a big catastrophe will strike this beautiful Mediterranean country: no energy, no milk for their children, no medicines for their sick and their pensioners and no money at all. The same arguments had been used during the Scottish referendum. Voters had been warned that the only future for an independent Scotland would be the ‘seven plagues of Egypt’. But this behavior is deeply antidemocratic. It also goes against our culture and our tradition. It’s against the European ideal. In 2015, elections are scheduled to take place in three big European countries: Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. In all three countries, it is the parties that have questioned Brussels’ politics that have the most chances of winning at the polls. In the UK, the Eurosceptic Conservative party will be contested by the Europhobic UKIP. In Poland, the PiS of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, which lingers somewhere between Euroscepticism and Europhobia, will probably win the elections. In Spain, the leftist and anti-austerity PODEMOS has a serious chance to victory especially after a successful win for the SYRIZA party in Greece. It would also be interesting to see whether Brussels and Berlin will express their concern for the possibility of a “wrong” vote. In 2017, France will hold its presidential elections. According to some predictions, the winner will be Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the National Front. Even though her win would make her the first female president in France (which is a good thing), Le Pen is openly racist and best known for her far-right rhetoric. Her party is against the EU and has even declared that France must exit the union. A possible win by National Front’s leader will bring forward a new situation for Europe. It will be a situation that many analysts consider to be a real catastrophe for the European idea. It would be interesting to see if Brussels, and Berlin, will express their concern with the same intensity and the same vulgarity they did in the case of Greece and Scotland. They probably won’t. France is bigger and more important than Greece or a possible independent Scotland. In this case maybe they will remember that two of our traditions in Europe is dialogue and negotiation.
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