Thread by @tepsaeu

“European Solidarity: What Should and Can it Mean?" has just gone LIVE! 🔴

As always, we'll highlight some key moments and interventions from our speakers @MichaelKaeding, @AreskougEU, @NiklasBremberg, and Gunilla Herolf, who moderates the panel

➡️ tepsa.eu/online-event-e…

This event takes place in the framework of the upcoming TEPSA Book "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals", published by @springerpub, and edited by @MichaelKaeding, @JohannesPollak, and @_PaulSchmidt

➡️ tepsa.eu/tepsa-books/

/2

"European solidarity is about understanding each other, and that is what this book is about"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/3 @UISweden

"Solidarity is less about defending our own interests - it is actually a European value, and a motivator for action at the EU level"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/4 @UISweden

"Only by #solidarity in action have we been able to tackle the #COVID19 pandemic: to find the right medicine, and to distribute that medicine fairly"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/5 @UISweden

"The EU is very much #solidarity in practice: representation in the @Europarl_EN, voting in the @EUCouncil, and more"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/6 @UISweden

"European solidarity needs to be backed up by a public, and for that we need a pan-European communication space - that is the project with this book series"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/7 @UISweden

Our next speaker is @AreskougEU - an EU practitioner of longstanding prestige and expertise

"This subject is very topical after the #COVID pandemic"

- @AreskougEU, speaking at our event with @UISweden

/8

"There is the moral obligation: you should help your neighbour - but there is also a very practical one: enlightened self-interest. If we trade with each other, we are all better off"

- @AreskougEU, speaking at our event with @UISweden

/9 @UISweden

"What is the state of play right now for #solidarity? We have this civil protection mechanism which was invoked during #COVID19. We also have solidarity in the cohesion mechanism, the social dimension, and more"

- @AreskougEU, speaking at our event with @UISweden

/10

"In the end, the pandemic led to a stronger solidarity than before in the health field"

- @AreskougEU, speaking at our event with @UISweden

/11

"We also have a deterrent type of solidarity, also to do with #brexit: the EU27 united in solidarity in the face of one Member State which wanted to leave"

- @AreskougEU, speaking at our event with @UISweden

/12

.@AreskougEU has laid out a fascinating analysis of the different types of #solidarity, while advocating for precisely that: a better understanding of the concept, especially as we move forward with the #CoFoE

/13

We now turn to @NiklasBremberg, a Senior Research Fellow from @UISweden - "my comments go very much along the same lines as @AreskougEU and @MichaelKaeding: we need to acknowledge the deep roots of our political community"

/14

"It would be difficult to sustain any political community based only on voluntary #solidarity [...] if you look at it in practice, a lot of the core state functions of the EU27 have been more or less transferred to a common framework"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/15

"There is a lack of a strong sense of collective identification - which is what makes such conversations about EU #solidarity quite complicated"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/16

"Any conversation about politics is about #redistribution, but there is a gap: we can't talk about EU #solidarity and redistributive policies without talking about how we can advance democracy in Europe"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/17

"We in the European Union, in order to continue to have #solidarity, we require a concept of #EuropeanIdentity. For this, we need a European public, a transnational communications space"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/18

"You can indeed have #solidarity out of self-interest, but also we seem to show solidarity in economic terms very often"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/19

"In #Poland it is remarkable that #solidarity is defined as a one-way street: Poland expects to be at the receiving end of European solidarity. It is not a concept in Poland based on reciprocity"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"
/20

"If you zoom into #Luxembourg, 50% of their employees are commuters. So when borders closed during #COVID19, all of a sudden Luxembourg had no workers! They were missing European solidarity!"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/21

"There are different routes of #solidarity, one of which is morality - this one is apart of the European identity. This is why the EU is the world's largest foreign aid donor"

- @AreskougEU, speaking at our event with @UISweden

/22

"Speaking of the history that informs the European project: we should take this into account also when discussing our foreign aid. The legacy of colonialism cannot be taken away."

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/23

"Europe needs to show solidarity with the rest of the world"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden discusses the need to vaccinate poorer countries at a higher rate, in order to reach a higher level of immunity

/24

"One area in which Europe is really forward-leaning, and which connects the different aspects of #solidarity that we have been talking about, is #ClimateAction"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/25

"If the EU really leveraged its legislative and financial capacities to achieve the 2050 climate goals it would be remarkable. This is the key issue for Europe today and the benefits of success will be felt at the EU level"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/26

"In the wake of #COVID19 we will see more #solidarity when it comes to vaccine procurement, stockpiling, and more aspects of health policy"

- @AreskougEU speaking at our event with @UISweden

/27

"It is in the Treaties that we learn what are the possibilities for European policy: where competences lie, which actors are relevant, and more"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/28

"The European Union is very complex and works in lots of different ways! Even WITHIN one policy area like #energy there are discrepancies between EU competences and national competences"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/29

"Whenever we call for 'more Europe' or 'less Europe', we first need to work out what the EU would actually be able to do on a given topic"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/30

"When you take #migration policy, the experience of #AngelaMerkel declaring Germany would take in refugees, without consulting her fellow European leaders, was a case of failed solidarity"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/31

If you're looking for more info on #AngelaMerkel's European Legacy, you should definitely check out Episode 5 of #EuropeChats!

/32

And if you're more into #migration policy writ-large, then check out our newest episode released today! "Does Europe Need More Migrants?", featuring @GilesMerritt from @FriendsofEurope

/33

"In the @EUCouncil, consensus is the driving rule of decision-making, and Qualified Majority Voting - even though it is an established way forward - is still very rare"

- @MichaelKaeding, co-editor of "Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe"

/34

"To me it is strange that we try to achieve #solidarity among ourselves when it comes to #refugees, but that we don't try so hard to show solidarity WITH the refugees"

- @NiklasBremberg from @UISweden

/35

On that note, our event "European Solidarity: What Should and Can it Mean?" comes to a close

Thank you to Gunilla Herolf for moderating and @UISweden for their organisation, as well as to our speakers @MichaelKaeding, @AreskougEU, and @NiklasBremberg

/ENDS

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