(30 March 2015) – An advisor on agriculture and rural development for the European institutions for 30 years, Hannes Lorenzen paints a rather critical picture of the current European Parliament, and more generally of the lack of vision of the EU institutions in the context of multiple crisis. Nevertheless, he remains convinced that a generous and sustainable Europe can be rebuilt, based on a local citizen-led dynamic.
Hannes Lorenzen was AEIDL’s guest for a panel discussion on “The new European Parliament from the inside” on the occasion of the association’s recent General Assembly (28 March 2015).
The general atmosphere towards the European Parliament, is “you have new rights, but you better not use them…”, says Hannes Lorenzen. As for the composition of the EP, it is “colourful and boring, with two large groups, based on the German grand coalition model, pitting themselves against the rest, which are mostly eurosceptical or even europhobic.”
The European project must be redefined at the initiative of civil society at local and regional levels, with a common vision of European solidarity. “If we want to find the European vision again, it is essential to use the next five years to mobilize people and to convince MEPs that the European spirit is still alive and that they should support it. Many young people expect this! “