Thread by @tepsaeu

We're LIVE 🔴 for EU Solidarity Under Stress

For those of you unable to join in person check out the livestream via @YouTube for all the highlights from our panel: @MichaelKaeding, François Roux, @guyhmilton, @VanHeckeSteven, and @spornschlegel

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As always, we'll also be highlighting the best bits here on Twitter - as @MichaelKaeding gives his introduction to the event as Moderator, let's get into a dynamic debate!

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"When you ask a Polish citizen what #solidarity means to them, you will get a very different answer to if you ask another nationality"

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

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"It's not just about France and Germany, it's about all the other European countries"

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

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To give the views from the EU Institutions, and from the specific perspective of the @EUCouncil, Michael introduces @guyhmilton: "Solidarity is not just moral but also about self-interest"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"Solidarity comes up a lot in the Treaties, but it is in practice in the @EUCouncil that it very much comes to life"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"We have lived through a series of crises over the last 10-12 years which have put the EU under stress in ways that have tested solidarity. But these crises can also act as a catalyst for solidarity"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"The first reaction to #COVID19 was a national response - quite simply there was a sense of panic. Thankfully the EU Institutions addressed that panic"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"#COVID19 culminated in a groundbreaking decision with the #RecoveryPackage which really shows the solidarity of the EU"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"At the European Council, the outside world focuses a lot on the outcomes, but it is also about #solidarity in the room"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"Solidarity requires understanding of each other's perspectives"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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"Solidarity among the peoples of the EU is much less developed than between the Member States at the @EUCouncil BUT we are seeing transnational, generational solidarity emerge around the issue of #ClimateChange"

- @guyhmilton from the @EUCouncil

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- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu begins her intervention by highlighting the importance of #solidarity to the European project from the very start: Robert Schuman called for solidarity between Europeans as far back as 1950!

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"EU solidarity is mentioned three times as a value, a principle, and a cause in the EU Treaties - this shows there is flexibility in the Treaties to develop a joint solidarity for Europe"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu

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"You have first order solidarity and second order solidarity, meaning that national solidarity will always prevail in times of panic. EU solidarity remains second order, and the question becomes: should we make it first order?"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu

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"We do have EU solidarity BUT it is based on a reciprocal relationship between Member States: solidarity between a citizen in Greece and a citizen in Poland basically doesn't exist"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu

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"Do we need a bigger step in integration to ensure we have interpersonal solidarity across Europe? Would it help us to tackle the issue of #ClimateChange together?"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu raises important questions about how we can make the #EUGreenDeal a success

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"Should #Solidarity be based on identity, values, goals & interests? We need to decide what kind of solidarity we want before trying to develop it"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu

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"There is little continuous thinking at the EU level about what it means to have solidarity - the value is brought up in times of crisis, but isn't thought of much beyond those"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu

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"I don't this EU solidarity is an antithesis to national solidarity, so the EU Institutions should support national solidarity at every level - the more cohesion we have, the better"

- @spornschlegel from @epc_eu

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"European solidarity is a reality: it is never easy, but it is a reality"

- François Roux from @EgmontInstitute

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"In principle, #solidarity is a principle in the Treaties - but it's not just about specific mentions of the term, but also about the implications of terms like 'Ever Closer Union', which are synonyms to solidarity"

- François Roux from @EgmontInstitute

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"The many crises we have faced over the last decade are telling: the Member States found the energy to act together - even though this 'Crisis Solidarity' is largely improvised"

- François Roux from @EgmontInstitute

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"#COVID19 stands out as being a crisis where asymmetry did not play a role: this changed the game. But you still had the same pattern: a first phase of national measures, a second phase of EU solidarity"

- François Roux from @EgmontInstitute

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"De facto solidarity to save concrete achievements in crisis is what keeps Europe evolving. But does this mean that the European project is safe? Certainly not."

- François Roux from @EgmontInstitute

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"In times of crisis, solidarity among Europeans can only progress according to two conditions: the EU decisions need to be clear and transparent, and they need to take into account national preferences more than they currently are"

- François Roux from @EgmontInstitute

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We not turn to @VanHeckeSteven from @KU_Leuven, author of the chapter of "European Solidarity in Action and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals" on EU Solidarity in Belgium

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"Belgium has a relatively strong legacy in terms of interpersonal solidarity, with an established social security system BUT inter-regional solidarity is much more controversial"

- @VanHeckeSteven from @KU_Leuven

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"At the EU level, always Belgium is at the front line of supporting European Solidarity - at least in terms of rhetoric. At the start of #COVID19, Belgium did not accept a single foreign patient"

- @VanHeckeSteven from @KU_Leuven

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"Why is #Solidarity important in the EU after all? The EU is three of things: a Single Market, a system of Rule of Law, and Solidarity at the Member States level to protect the smaller states from the bigger ones"

- @VanHeckeSteven from @KU_Leuven

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"Why do the Maltese or the Lithuanians support the Irish case in #Brexit? Because they understand that solidarity is needed against bigger Member States such as the leaving UK"

- @VanHeckeSteven from @KU_Leuven

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On that note, we move over too the Q&A portion of our event - if you've got any questions to put to our panellists, this is your chance!

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A few great questions to start our Q&A: on the topic of national solidarity, rule of law, solidarity as a European value, and external solidarity

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After a fascinating Q&A our moderator @MichaelKaeding closes the panel: "Solidarity is about values, about rules, about the ever closer union, and most importantly about understanding each other"

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Thanks to our panellists @MichaelKaeding, @guyhmilton, @spornschlegel, François Roux, and @VanHeckeSteven

/ENDS

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