Despite the economic forecasts and Mayans’ predictions, I’m very excited by 2012. Is the crisis over? Not at all. On the contrary, we need more crisis to get rid of all the old elephants and reform the system. Europe is still stuck in the past century.
The new fiscal compact is far from having solved European problems starting with the €. Ireland is bound by its constitution to run a referendum to ratify the intergovernamental treaty. Do you remember how long it took to ratify the Lisbon Treaty? “Persuading people they made a mistake voting NO is so annoying and time consuming” a civil servant would say.
Moreover, the Finnish government might experience delays in a parliament where the true Finns have a weigh – not to mention the other governments who might reserve further surprises.
Can we go through such a painful – and doubtfully democratic – process, every time Europe faces a crisis? Easy answer: NO!
Then what shall we do? The old school political experts would recommend to European governments to give more power to the Commission or to build a new intergovernamental institution ie more bureaucracy less democracy.
Do we want this? Easy answer: NO!
Then the solution is simple. We need a new contract between European Union and citizens. More capacity to European institutions to face 21st century challenges and more democracy for citizens to hold European institutions accoutable to their results.
This looks a good start. Is it enough? Shall we just give more power to the EU. Easy answer: NO.
Why not again? We can’t forget that we live in the 21century society which is interconnected and interdependent beyond borders and boundaries. Power and knowledge are distributed not concentrate anymore. Change has sped up beyond control.
What does it mean for us? Public institutions – especially the European ones – can’t solve problems on their own. We must give them a hand. Actually, we – citizens and their organisations – must work in partnership to design and implement solutions.
This is the new path and the socio-economic policies launched by the European Commission in the last 2 years point in the right direction.
What are these new policies? They are called social innovation, social business, social entrepreneurship, social investments and social experimentation. Yes, it’s a bit of a mess. They don’t form a coherent body neither devise a clear vision, but it’s a good start.
There isn’t any consensual definition – and we need to work on it – but they claim the same principles. Solutions for our contemporary society rely on an innovative economy attentive to both social and environmental progress. They require a multi-stakeholder approach combining a variety of different skills and expertise. People are called to be part of the process in sharing benefits and responsibilities.
Europe is rich of people ready to engage – civil society, social economy, charity, cooperatives, mutuals, foundations, NGOs… you name them – but they have always been left apart and looked down on by the big boys. It’s time to plug into this untapped resource for a fresh start.
Therefore I’m optimistic, and my 2012 will be devoted to letting a thousand flowers bloom.
