EU at risk of "implosion" as far-right seeks scapegoats, minister warns
WORLD 05 May 2024 - 17:45
The future of the EU is being jeopardised by people stirring up social tensions for short-term political gain, Spain’s environment minister has said ahead of next month’s European parliamentary elections.
Teresa Ribera, who is heading the list for the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party in June’s poll, said the European project is at risk of “an implosion”, The Guardian reports.
She told the Guardian: “When you have people asking themselves what scapegoats they can use for their problems – rather than correctly identifying the causes of their problems and addressing them – the search for scapegoats ratchets up.
“And that breaks coexistence in a society. I think that’s the riskiest point we’re facing right now – the risk of an implosion of a European project that’s probably one of the most successful projects in history, and of course in recent European history.”
Ribera said that Europe, already struggling with “traditional, violent, enormously bloody and painful wars in both Ukraine and Gaza”, also faced threats from those who use energy, food, disinformation and social media manipulation as the tools of modern warfare.
At a time of such global upheaval and uncertainty, she added, centre-right politicians must resist the urge to ape the far right or to enter into alliances with it.
“I think it’s been shown that it’s a huge error – and historically always has been – to think that looking for common territory with the far right is a way to pacify the far right,” she said. “That never works. The French know that very well; I think the republican principle of a cordon sanitaire against things that aren’t tolerable is still the best answer.”
Ribera said she had been deeply troubled by the moderate right’s increasing embrace of the far right and its tactics and language. Although the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, recently criticised some on the far right for being “Putin’s proxies”, she refused to rule out working with the hardline European Conservatives and Reformists Group, which includes Spain’s far-right Vox party, Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and Poland’s Law and Justice party.
“I think that’s very worrying and, up to a certain point, it was a betrayal,” said Ribera.
“When [European People’s party leader Manfred] Weber questioned the restoration of ecosystems, or in the words Von der Leyen has used in these pre-electoral moments, I didn’t see the classic Christian democracy that was at the fore of the construction of the European project, along with social democracy and the liberals. I think that’s very worrying and that we should avoid those kinds of temptations.”
Ribera, who has led Spain’s environmental agenda for the past six years, pointed to the recent neo-fascist rallies in Italy as proof that Europe’s authoritarian past was intruding on its democratic present.
“That is what’s at stake right now,” she said. “That’s being normalised. Does anyone really think that recognising this kind of behaviour as legitimate is going to make it disappear? Quite the opposite. It will just grow and become seen as just another sign of institutional and public life.”
Ribera described von der Leyen’s words as “enormously unfortunate” but insisted they showed the importance of people turning out to vote in June.
“Participation in European elections is usually lower than in local or national elections because people think that all this stuff just goes on working alongside our daily reality,” she said. “But that’s a lie: whoever’s in Brussels will end up defending policies in all our member states but also our capacity to react to any crisis.”
Ribera said Spain was all too familiar with pacts between the centre right and the far right since the conservative People’s party and Vox began teaming up to form regional coalition governments. She noted that three UN experts had recently warned that new laws proposed by three such regional governments – which have been criticised as attempts to “whitewash” the Franco dictatorship – could contravene international human rights standards.
The minister also said the climate emergency was too pressing and too critical to be used as part of culture wars and partisan politics.
“From a physical point of view, it’s obviously impossible to ask nature or the climate system to give us more time,” she said. “The dynamics have been evolving and will continue evolving whether we pay attention to them or not. But it’s more than that – if we don’t pay attention then we’ll accelerate that deterioration.”
The choice, she added, was between reacting as soon as possible to mitigate the effects of the emergency, reduce costs and generate opportunities, or waiting “for those dynamics themselves to hit us in the form of floods, terrible heatwaves and the collapse of our industrial infrastructure”.
Ribera stressed the importance of engaging the public in the fight against apathy, despair, and active disinformation.
“The far right – and the right has seconded them on this – has sought to portray this agenda as a kind of cultural agenda to be fought against,” she said. “It’s distorted reality as if by questioning the messenger and the message it’ll avoid the problems we’re having.”
She said she would do everything in her power to save the beleaguered European Green Deal, which aims to restore biodiversity, clean up the environment, and mitigate climate breakdown. The EU has already diluted a series of proposed laws including the nature restoration law, which is on the verge of collapse, and scrapped other plans including new rules on pesticides.
“I will do everything in my power to stop the Green Deal failing and to make sure that it’s viable, agile and just,” said Ribera.
“I think that’s the most important political message of this campaign. I think the failure of the Green Deal wouldn’t just be a failure for Europe; it would be a failure for Europe’s citizens and for their opportunities.”
Caliber.Az
1
|
700 tunnel shafts found in Rafah, 50 cross into Egypt Israel informs South Africa at UN top court
17 May 2024 - 15:56
|
2
|
Uncertainty over Russian border guard withdrawal from Armenia Amid conflicting statements
18 May 2024 - 14:47
|
3
|
New Caledonia crisis mirrors Macron's hypocrisy on Azerbaijan France faces its own crisis
17 May 2024 - 17:20
|
4
|
France's coercive colonial policies in New Caledonia Hypocrisy, repression, struggle for self-determination
16 May 2024 - 17:29
|
5
|
Political unrest in Armenia & Georgia amid Azerbaijan's rebuilding efforts in Karabakh South Caucasus in flux
16 May 2024 - 17:18
|
Iran hangs two women as surge in executions intensifies: NGO
19 May 2024 - 02:20
US Army’s multidomain task force contributing to AUKUS
19 May 2024 - 00:15
Slovakia at pivotal moment after Robert Fico shooting
18 May 2024 - 22:10
Russia admits it can’t halt nighttime uncrewed surface vessel raids
18 May 2024 - 20:00
Palestinian resistance eliminates 15 Israeli soldiers in Rafah
18 May 2024 - 18:18
Slovak PM’s attacker pleads guilty before court — media
18 May 2024 - 18:08
White House not thrilled by Macron’s D-Day invite to Russia
18 May 2024 - 17:59
Poland to begin construction of Eastern Shield
18 May 2024 - 17:47
Resistance destroys 100 Israeli vehicles in 10 days
18 May 2024 - 17:32
Hungarian FM calls for Azerbaijani delegation's return to PACE
18 May 2024 - 17:17
Ambrey says Panama-flagged oil tanker attacked southwest of Yemen's Mokha
18 May 2024 - 17:02
Pakistan, India issue warnings to students in Kyrgyzstan after mob violence
18 May 2024 - 16:47
New Croatian government receives confidence vote in Zagreb assembly
18 May 2024 - 16:36
Presidential couple attend inauguration, groundbreaking ceremonies in de-occupied territories
18 May 2024 - 16:30
Zelenskyy expects Russia to intensify offensive in northeast Ukraine
18 May 2024 - 16:24
Azerbaijan participates in 79th CISM General Assembly and Congress
18 May 2024 - 16:12
White House: “No surprise” over strengthening Russia-China alliance
18 May 2024 - 16:00
Five activists from Yerevan's revanchist movement released after detention
18 May 2024 - 15:47
China probes agriculture minister for suspected disciplinary violations
18 May 2024 - 15:36
Azerbaijani marine special forces involved in military exercises in Türkiye
PHOTO18 May 2024 - 15:24
German lawmakers suggest allies could protect sky over western Ukraine from NATO soil
18 May 2024 - 15:12
French authorities report sixth fatality in New Caledonia violence
18 May 2024 - 14:59
Uncertainty over Russian border guard withdrawal from Armenia
Amid conflicting statements18 May 2024 - 14:47
Azerbaijan, Iran set to inaugurate Qiz Qalasi hydroelectric complex on Araz River
18 May 2024 - 14:35
Future of nuclear energy: balancing clean power, safety, innovation
Caliber.Az on YouTube18 May 2024 - 14:23
Australia applies sanctions for North Korea arms supply
18 May 2024 - 14:08
US: 30 years for man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband
18 May 2024 - 13:53
Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe via TAP surpass 35 billion cubic meters
18 May 2024 - 13:40
US says drone strikes on Russia hurt fuel supplies but not power
18 May 2024 - 13:28
COP29 at crossroads in Azerbaijan with focus on climate finance
Article by The Guardian18 May 2024 - 13:17
Azerbaijan seize Armenian weapons, ammunition in Khankandi, surrounding areas
PHOTO/VIDEO18 May 2024 - 13:03
Azerbaijani Army achieves substantial mine clearance in liberated territories
PHOTO/VIDEO18 May 2024 - 12:50
North Korean president guides tactical missile test with “autonomous navigation”
18 May 2024 - 12:38
Armenia, Netherlands mull bilateral relations, Baku-Yerevan peace treaty
18 May 2024 - 12:26
Azerbaijan sets priorities ahead of COP29
"Green" financing, ESG implementation18 May 2024 - 12:13
Pashinyan visits border village to persuade discontented residents, claims revanchist archbishop
18 May 2024 - 12:03
Gunmen kill three Spanish tourists in Afghanistan's central Bamyan province
18 May 2024 - 12:00
Israeli strike on West Bank's Jenin kills alleged militant leader, injures 8
18 May 2024 - 11:48
Turkish transport minister outlines timeline for Zangezur corridor launch
18 May 2024 - 11:38
Senegalese prime minister criticises French military bases on territory
18 May 2024 - 11:37