"Face à la crise, quelles perspectives pour l'Union européenne?"

Le philosophe Jean-Marc Ferry, qui est professeur à l’Université libre de Bruxelles et chercheur au CNRS, explique dans son article « Face à la crise, quelles perspectives pour l’Union européenne? » que « les défis de l’élargissement et de la constitutionnalisation étaient sûrement trop difficiles pour l’Union européenne. (…) A l’avenir, il est urgent de s’interroger sur les finalités et les formes possibles de l’intégration, en délaissant la fausse évidence fédéraliste. »

Jean-Marc Ferry thinks that the EU has faced two major challenges, one being the enlargement to 25 member states and the second being the debate of the Constitution. In his article, he analyses neo-liberal views and several effects and case studies regarding the enlargement and the Constitutional debate on the EU. One aspect, for instance, discusses the fact that « the Constitution could represent a blurry symbol and be premature » in case of the project being adopted by parliamentary system or by depending on a referendum. 

Furthermore, « Constitutional patriotism also practically implies that you are willing to share with foreigners who are less rich than you are; to accept sacrifices, to agree and understand their susceptibilities, expecting an arrogance matching indifference of a common cause ». However, the author describes an « empirical falsification of constitutional patriotism » in the EU by citing the example of Turkey’s application to the EU which was confronted to « repulsive, almost racist reactions ». Therefore, he demands a « lucid and reader-friendly constitutional text indicating clearly its intentions ». 

Source from Ifri, Politique étrangère 3:2005, Full text only available in French