This autumn, JEF Finland wants to spark discussion about Europe in our future. The Europe 2050 theme year challenges those debating Europe to look and to boldly envision beyond electoral terms.
“Finland’s EU membership turns 25 this year. Instead of reminiscing about the past, we want to look boldly to the future, because that future is where we, young people, will be living. We challenge all Finns debating Europe, as well as the speakers at our #Europe2050 webinars, to envision Europe thirty years from now,” encourages JEF Finland President Iiris Asunmaa.
Over the summer, JEF Finland developed its own vision of what kind of Europe we hope to live in by 2050. Based on this vision, a Europe utopia was born, beginning with the bold decisions made at the first EU summit of 2050.
EUROPE 2050
At the first summit of 2050, the establishment of a European Federation was decided. This decision is the result of a long, gradual process of federal development. “A shared European identity has taken shape, centred on democracy, human rights, cultural diversity and the rule of law. The European Union has succeeded in creating an economically stable, socially just and carbon-neutral continent, while also adopting a strong role as a promoter of global diplomacy and multilateralism. Now is the right time to take the next step forward and finally establish a European Federation,” the President of the European Union commented at the EU summit.
Through value-based and gradual federal development, the European Union has preserved its prosperity and developed into a carbon-neutral and socially just society. The European Union’s most important values — democracy, human rights and the rule of law — are at the heart of all its activities.
As trust in shared values and cooperation has strengthened, the wave of right-wing populism in Europe has also subsided. Building on shared values, discussions began about the events of the 20th century and laid the groundwork for a common understanding of past wounds. These discussions gave rise to a new European narrative that equally acknowledges the suffering experienced by different countries. Through this shared experience, a new, unified identity emerged in Europe, which in turn has strengthened the gradual progress of federal development.
The European Union has expanded to the Western Balkans, Turkey and the United Kingdom. It is a unified actor whose political system is based on a decentralised federal model. Decisions are made, in line with JEF Finland’s principle of citizen-driven federalism, at the level that is most democratic, appropriate and effective from citizens’ point of view. The European Union’s competences are concentrated on matters where it makes the most sense to act at a high level, such as ensuring ecological sustainability, foreign and security policy, maintaining the single market, and major fiscal and monetary policy decisions. However, plenty of power has also been left to member states and various regional and local government actors.
The European Union is a global pioneer in democracy and civic participation. European democracy operates according to the principles of parliamentarism. European Parliament elections are held every five years and define the continent’s political cycle. The European Parliament can be seen as a kind of “lower house”, and the Council of the European Union, made up of member states, as the “upper house” — both of which must enjoy the confidence of the European Commission, which is responsible for proposing and implementing legislation. The system is built on a strong constitution.
The highest political decision-making power is exercised by the President of the European Union, who carries out the duties of President of the Council and of the Commission. The President is elected in connection with European Parliament elections from among candidates put forward by the European Parliament’s political groups. Commissioners are chosen from among members of the European Parliament.
One of the European Union’s most important success factors has been its ability to adapt the functioning of the market economy to the planet’s carrying capacity and to decouple economic growth from material flows. This has given it the ability to implement the climate action needed for carbon neutrality while also ensuring that Europeans have sufficient livelihoods to secure their income. The massive transformation of economic structures, driven by digitalisation, robotisation and ecological sustainability, has been managed in a controlled way, partly thanks to the European Union’s funding programmes and innovative policies. Effective and purposeful education plays an extremely important role in European economic policy and is available at every stage of life and career.
The European Union’s economic system is based on a socially just market economy operating according to the principles of the circular economy. The circular economy and its various innovations have brought great prosperity and new business and livelihood opportunities. Europe’s economy is the most resource-efficient in the world: all physical material produced is utilised to the fullest extent, at the highest possible level of processing.
The euro is the shared currency of all European Union member states. The challenges of the euro have been successfully resolved thanks to strong political will and sensible compromises. The eurosystem has been built on the same principle as the dollar in the United States: member states are themselves responsible for their own debts and for balancing their national economy’s income and expenditure. However, the eurosystem has strong and effective means for countering the problems caused by asymmetric shocks: labour mobility is also at an excellent level, which in turn helps offset the effects of shocks and is the result of determined, progressive policy.
Europe has avoided the problems of an ageing population’s changing age structure through a successful and humane immigration policy. The European Union’s territory needs a great deal of different kinds of labour, and it is easy to enter the Union through legal means. It has functioning systems both for labour-based immigration and for immigration aimed at protecting those in need.
The European Union is an actor considerably bigger than its size in international politics, and it bases all its activities on its core values. It promotes a multilateral, rules-based international system and supports, by every means, the capacity of the institutions that uphold it. The President of the European Union represents the Union in the UN Security Council and in many other international bodies.
JEF Finland’s Europe 2050 webinar series kicks off on Thursday, 20 August 2020. Click here to join here. You can access the webinar series’ schedule and stream here.
For further information:
Iiris Asunmaa
President
JEF Finland
[email protected]
050 918 7390