Quando o óbvio não é tão óbvio

O The Guardian publica hoje uma carta aberta onde 18 académicos e ex-lideres europeus dizem o que deveria ser óbvio: A União Europeia necessita de liderança para ultrapassar a crise. A única coisa que espanta é que haja necessidade de escrever esta carta...

"The EU needs leadership to tackle this crisis, not repeated doses of austerity. Ad hoc politics has undermined European solidarity and has created confusion and distrust among Europe's citizens

The current eurozone crisis has been an important test for the EU; and it has not done well so far. For too long, Europe's leaders have simply responded to unfolding events rather than directly confronting the root causes of the crisis. This ad hoc politics has undermined European solidarity and has created confusion and distrust among Europe's citizens. We have to change this approach and restore political leadership to prevent further damage.

We call on Europe's leaders to take over the political agenda again and develop a new plan for the future of a prosperous and united eurozone. We need a credible new proposal for economic reform and growth that Europe's peoples in the north and south can buy into; not just repeated doses of austerity, which will not restore confidence and economic and social sustainability.

We also need new and effective economic governance mechanisms to address the institutional deficiencies of the eurozone and the closer co-ordination of fiscal policies. Monetary union requires closer political union. We need to acknowledge this and work to make it happen rather than risking the break-up of the eurozone, which would produce unpredictable political and economic costs.

We are concerned about the current state of EU politics and the long-term damage it could cause. Only a confident new politics can bring back lasting trust in the financial stability of the monetary union and the future of the European unification process. It is time to change direction and live up to the challenge.

Giuliano Amato (Former Italian Prime Minister)

Zygmunt Bauman (Leeds University)

Ulrich Beck (Munich University)

Peter Bofinger (Würzburg University)

Stefan Collignon (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa)

Alfred Gusenbauer (Former Chancellor of Austria)

Jürgen Habermas (German philosopher)

David Held (London School of Economics)

Gustav Horn (Macroeconomic Policy Institute, Düsseldorf)

Bernard-Henri Lévy (French philosopher)

Roger Liddle (House of Lords and Chair of Policy Network)

David Marquand (Oxford University)

Henning Meyer (London School of Economics)

Kalypso Nicolaidis (Oxford University)

Jan Pronk (ISS, The Hague, and former Dutch Development Minister)

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Former Danish Prime Minister and PES President)

Maria Joao Rodrigues (UL Brussels and University Institute Lisbon)

Martin Schulz (President S&D Group in the European Parliament)

Gesine Schwan (Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, Berlin)"