Emmanuel Macron’s victory has opened unexpected prospects for the European Union. These were made plain by an impressive number of innovative proposals given in his speech at the Sorbonne University on September 27^th, 2018.

I am really glad to be here with you again, because I think this is the third time I open the Annual Conference of the [European Defence] Agency; and, to do this, this year, in probably the most important moment for European defence in decades.

The electoral and political decline of European social-democracies in recent decades, in the context of the global economic and financial crisis that began in 2008 and of the globalization process, is now a recognized empirical evidence.

Two core issues in the campaign that will lead us to the European election in 2019 will probably be the EU budget and the introduction of additional “own resources” for the Eurozone.

America first. Russia first. China first.

The United States of America puts American interests first. Just as every other nation in the world puts its own interests first. President Donald Trump was right about that in his first speech before the United Nations, on Sept. 19.

1. Globalization is the new “mode of production”

Globalization is a very complex phenomenon. We could not understand it and evaluate the extent of its consequences without resorting to Marx’s concept of mode of production, which even the most pragmatic economists use without even mentioning it.

This summer a consensus was reached on a mix of policies that can effectively address the emergencies looming over the Mediterranean, turning them into opportunities.

In a historical moment in which the project of European integration risks its disintegration or a substantial deadlock, and in which the disaffection of European citizens towards this project has reached the highest peak in recent years, recalling the teachings of one of the fathers founders of the European project constitutes not only a dutiful homage

I have always been a profound admirer of Spanish democracy, but especially since February 23, 1981. On that dramatic day, Colonel Antonio Tejero attempted a coup d’état against the young democratic regime.

European (and global) federalism came into being, as a political force, in the aftermath of World War II in order to overcome nationalisms and unite in a common political project the beleaguered nation-states of the Old Continent, and, progressively, the entire humankind.

Book

I have nothing but praise for the new book¹. The historical retrospectives, the critique of the crisis of the European Union, the exploration of other regional unions, and the enlargement of the field to world government is nimble, creative, and an addition to the literature on supranational international organization. I have read the book. I bought a copy to donate to Luis Cabrera and James Thompson, organizers of the World State Debate (www.wgresearch.org).

Michel Aglietta & Nicolas Leron
La double démocratie. Une Europe politique pour la croissance

Éditions du Seuil, Paris, 2017