The growing dominance of global markets is undermining the influence of nation states in the management of public affairs. One of its most tremendous consequences has been the weakening of national policies dedicated to the distribution of wealth. The result has been an increase in inequalities and poverty.
The welfare states (with their public pension, health, unemployment, housing systems) built during the last century were the result of the struggles of left-wing parties, trade unions and social movements in search of a more egalitarian society. Social advances, built within the framework of nation states, which are now being curtailed by globalization. The national framework has remained narrow for the maintenance of social rights achieved.
Socialist MEP Jonás Fernández has addressed these challenges in a suggestive book, Go back to the roots. A European left against inequality (Intellectual key). His central thesis is that “citizens can only regain lost sovereignty in global markets through the European Union.” The common thread of his reflection is that the future of the left and that of the European Union go hand in hand. In other words, “without Europe there is no left.” In his words “for the left, sovereignty is a necessary condition to reinvigorate an agenda focused on the regulation of markets and the redistribution of income.”
We are not facing a willful and candid argument about the benefits of the European Union. The author starkly outlines the serious deficiencies of the Union and his proposals to correct them so that it can be useful to citizens. He considers it necessary to “make the decision-making system” of the European institutions necessary so that citizens can position themselves in the political debates that take place and are not known. In his opinion “we must recover the legitimacy and credibility of the Union, especially if we aspire to rebuild a left that can fulfill its egalitarian promise.”
Jonás Fernández lucidly outlines the shortcomings that the Union must overcome in order for it to act effectively. The creation of a fiscal instrument to strengthen the European budget and thus increase cooperation with the social policies of the States stands out. The decisive response of the EU to the crisis of the pandemic, with an aid fund financed by common debt and the creation of European taxes have shown the effective possibilities of Europe to support social action.
The reflections of the former Basque Government Councilor Ramón Jáuregui on Grand place, the Mario Onaindia Foundation Magazine, go in the same direction. The former socialist deputy also advocates ending the distortions that are preventing the proper functioning of the EU. Thus, it proposes eliminating the Eurogroup so as not to limit the power of the European Commission and censures the unfair competition in tax matters of some States to “avoid unfair damage to national collections.” Europe gains weight in the face of economic and social challenges.