To adapt to the key challenges it faces today, Europe urgently needs to rethink its system of governance, believes Jeremy Gallon, lawyer, former diplomat and author of two major biographies, "The Eternal Georges Pompidou" and "The European Henry Kissinger".
In an interview with the French newspaper L'Express, he proposes to implement - finally! - the recommendations of the Draghi report and to reread the 1961 Fouchet plan, which reflects the Gaullist vision of Europe and envisages the construction of a truly political Europe. Draghi-Fouchet, an unexpected but very convincing partnership.
L'EXPRESS: On October 1 in Copenhagen, despite increased enemy drone flights, European leaders failed to agree on measures to strengthen the continent's defense capabilities. "Europe as a power" still seems a distant achievement...
JÉRÉMY GALLON: Indeed, Europe seems lost and powerless in the new global chessboard, which is being structured around new principles. First, the dominance of force over law. The collapse of international institutions and rules leads to the disappearance of any world order.
Multilateralism, which was our framework for interpretation, has been both crushed by the Trump administration and distorted by China, which is trying to reshape the multilateral balance in its favor. In this geopolitical jungle, Europe is unable to speak the language of a multipolar world, where violence, which is the DNA of the new masters of the game - the autocracies, is getting out of control.
L'EXPRESS: The shock is even stronger, because the Western bloc itself is cracking at the seams...
J. GALLON: Yes, the West is losing its global leadership. Its two main pillars are crumbling, whether it is "America - world policeman" or "missionary Europe". Western unity no longer exists and the Atlantic alliance, as structured since 1945, is disintegrating. In this context, an isolated Europe faces three simultaneous threats.
First: the United States, which now thinks in terms of spheres of influence. From an ally, they have become a predator, unwavering in their attempts to subjugate Europe, as evidenced by recent attempts to violate our sovereignty, including territorial (Greenland).
Second: Russia, which is waging a hybrid war against Europeans and poses an existential threat to the eastern half of the continent. And third: China, which is using Europe as a dumping ground for its vast excess production capacity, fueled by systematic dumping, undervaluation of the yuan against the euro, and blackmail for access to rare earth elements and critical raw materials. Today, Beijing no longer considers Europe an equal. In the triad of partner/competitor/rival, the "rivalry" aspect prevails.
L'EXPRESS: What risk do these three threats pose to Europe?
J. GALLON: To be erased from history. And this is not a question of nostalgia for a bygone era when Europe dominated the world, but of the real risk of becoming simply a pawn in the hands of third powers. It is a question of ceasing to be masters of our own destiny, of ceasing to be free and of ceasing to pass on to future generations, to our children and grandchildren, what previous generations have bequeathed to us. Because let us not deceive ourselves: I do not believe that there is a Western civilization, but there is a European civilization, and it is mortal.
And the fact that Europe has an exceptional history does not protect it from the risk of destruction. To those who believe that this fear is excessive, that European civilization has a long history and that Europe is the continent where people live best in the world, I advise them to think about the catastrophic fate of other great civilizations: the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Umayyads of Cordoba in the 10th century, or the Chinese Qing dynasty in the 19th century. What they have in common is that they were the heirs of civilizations rich in centuries of history, culture and an exceptional level of development. But this did not save them from humiliation, enslavement and, for some, complete destruction.
L'EXPRESS: How can we respond to these challenges?
J. GALÓN: First, by making a sober assessment of the current situation. By clearly assessing the world around us, but above all ourselves. Remember this magnificent phrase from Amin Maalouf in "The African Lion". When the narrator asks his uncle why the rulers and the population did not react to the fall of the Sultanate of Granada during the Reconquista in 1492, the latter replies: "Perhaps someone will have to dare to teach them to look defeat in the eye, to dare to explain to them that in order to get up again, they must first admit that they have fallen. Maybe someone will have to tell them the truth one day."
L'EXPRESS: What will happen when our eyes open?
J. GALLON: Only with this clarity will we gain momentum for building a new Europe. By abandoning short-term interests and taking on all the key reforms contained in the Draghi report that we have refused to implement for decades, namely the adoption of stronger economic, technological and energy integration.
It is an absolute scandal that all this has not yet been implemented. We must become a driver of innovation and ensure that Europe is truly a single market, with a European energy market, a capital markets union and a genuine European defence industry. But Draghi's Europe will not be enough. We also need, as he himself admitted, a completely rethought governance of Europe.
L'EXPRESS: What form could this governance take?
J. GALLON: I have served European diplomacy, to which I remain deeply attached. But over the last few years I have gradually become convinced that we cannot build a strong Europe with 27 Member States and the existing institutions. Instead of the illusion of a diplomatically integrated Europe, I believe that on the contrary, we must, especially in matters of defence and diplomacy, return to a deep cooperation between a limited number of nation-states.
In this regard, I believe that the time has come to revisit Fouchet's 1961 plan, which reflected the Gaullist vision of Europe. It was not an expression of implacable nationalism, but rather reflected General de Gaulle's desire to build a truly political Europe.
It envisaged a significant expansion of cooperation in three areas: defense, diplomacy, and education. Today, technology must be added to this, since the Chinese and American examples remind us that there is no power without control over revolutionary technologies, among which artificial intelligence is in the first place.
Neither by closing in on each nation-state, nor by supranational institutions devoid of democratic legitimacy, will we find the path to a stronger Europe. It is precisely through the close cooperation of a cohesive core of sovereign states, a kind of new European executive council, that we will be able to build a political Europe. Draghi and Fouche are an unexpected duo, but they could nevertheless be a powerful source of inspiration for building the Europe of the future.