Europe at Risk, Attac

European Union leaders take a perverse pleasure in discouraging the best intentions. The parliamentary ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, a carbon copy of the constitutional treaty rejected in 2005 by the French and Dutch people, is enough to weary even the most ardent supporters of the European idea. This is especially true given that the track record, after fifty years of Europe, is, to say the least, mixed. While not denying certain advances, the overall result is disappointing. Most European policies aim to promote free trade to the detriment of solidarity and public services. More seriously, the enlargement of the Union has further encouraged social and fiscal dumping. Finally, the Union, whose institutions and functioning have never been democratic, has followed reprehensible paths in most areas: from productivist agriculture destroying the environment to military policy subservient to NATO, not to mention "Fortress Europe" where detention centers are multiplying. Attac provides an assessment here and proposes alternatives for a different Europe. These are all the more necessary as the economic and financial crisis is overturning many preconceived notions. In other words, the Union is at a crossroads. Either it learns no lessons from the crisis and sinks into a deadly market logic, or, on the contrary, citizens succeed in giving primacy to democracy and solidarity over all mercantile considerations. In a way, the fate of the European Union is akin to a make-or-break situation.