When Europe hurts itself. And Macron loses his first battle

A serious thing happened yesterday in the European Parliament. The”Meps”, with a majority of just over 90 votes (54 percent) rejected the proposal to have transnational lists at the next European elections. The idea has been around for twenty years, and the exit from the Union of Great Britain had offered a great opportunity to realize it, freeing a large number of seats, which could allow many things to be fixed: rebalancing the representation of the States, which has been done; leaving the seats free for new countries that can enter the Eu in the future, which has been done; create “European” lists, in which to elect Meps presented by the European parties at whole Union level and not just on national basis, as it is now. That was not done.

At the same time, the Parliament confirmed the principle of the candidates indicated by the parties, before the elections, for the leadership of the European Commission, the ‘spitzenkandidat’. And this is a positive fact.

The step forward, however, remained in the middle: single candidates to the Commission, therefore chosen at European level, but with members of the Parliament, who will have to approve the appointment, always chosen at national level. A small but significant step towards a more united Union, which could go beyond the level of a political debate and political representation which remain essentially on national ground, has not been done.

It then becomes difficult to speak, in the individual countries, about “more Europe”, if not even at European level a step is attempted in this sense. If Europe itself does not believe it.

The Italian government has long supported the transnational lists, as more recently did the French president Emmanuel Macron, who in Strasbourg, in France, suffered the first defeat of his pro-European project.

An important occasion has been lost, which will not reoccur for many years, but above all the opportunity has been lost to demonstrate to the citizens, albeit with a more symbolic than effective act, that even the European institutions believe in what they say.

Thus it becomes difficult to convince citizens that the right path is towards greater European integration.