Icelanders have said "no" to the EU accession negotiations. This is a major blow to Brussels, which wants to be a safe alternative to today's world of dangers and wars. Is a united Europe failing in its mission to unite?
In June, a majority of young Icelanders wanted their country to start negotiations to join the European Union. But in the referendum this Sunday, most of them said "no" to the European perspective for the island state.
Disasters foretold
In fact, everywhere in Iceland, except in the capital Reykjavik, a majority has declared itself against the start of negotiations with Brussels. If the referendum question had been "Do you want to join the EU?", the loss for the pro-European government would have been even greater, experts say.
The campaign in support of potential EU membership has clearly failed. This is also a heavy blow for Brussels, which wants to be a safe and valuable alternative to the current world, woven of dangers, several raging wars, increasingly risky and aggressive behavior of Washington and severe economic risks.
A united Europe seems to be failing to achieve precisely that - to unite. Polarization in many European countries is growing. Especially between the rich parts and megacities and the population in the smaller regions and poorer provinces.
The predicted disaster of the pro-European forces in the elections in the poorest German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the upcoming presidential vote in France, which hangs over the future of the continent like a sword of Damocles, make the need for a conversation about what the European Union can offer its citizens even more urgent.
What does the EU actually offer?
Fishing. This is the main reason why the pro-European camp in Iceland lost. Observers and experts say that the lobby of companies in the key industry for the island managed to prevail with the messages and fears that it spread during the campaign. The opportunities that EU membership brings and the security that the EU should be able to guarantee have been left in the background.
Why? Probably because there are too many cracks in these arguments. What security can the EU guarantee while in recent weeks information has been spreading more and more aggressively that Russia is preparing to carry out a military provocation against a member state of the Community in order to demonstrate NATO's inability to react? What solidarity can we talk about when only a few weeks ago most member states sharply attacked Spain, while it needed support for the crisis in Ceuta? How can voters in the former East German provinces suppress their instilled fears about migration? Politicians tell them that the German economy needs migration. But despite the migrants, it is currently in crisis. A crisis for which no solution seems to be offered. The only answer comes from the far right - it is imaginary, unfeasible, dangerous. But it is decisive. And sometimes that is enough.
In search of an antidote to fear
To respond to growing fears, the European Union must look in the mirror and seek in its reflection what makes it strong. Those opportunities that Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer foresaw nearly 80 years ago. Europe must urgently arm itself and guarantee its security. It can no longer unconditionally rely on Washington for this. European industry must modernize, adapt and strengthen itself. It is obvious that it can no longer rely on the Chinese market for its growth and development, and that some sectors of the economy must remain in the past. And most of all, European countries must accept that they are too small and weak individually. Common decisions must be made quickly, effectively and courageously - even if this means that unanimity in the Council of Europe will fall away, and when there is a common crisis on the border, for example, at first it will be resolved in solidarity, and only then will the countries point fingers at each other.
If a united Europe does not realize what makes it unique and does not share a common vision for its future, it is doomed to lose. And its enemies - from dictatorial and authoritarian regimes across the globe to the unscrupulous opportunists within it - will only gain.
This text expresses the opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and the State News Agency as a whole.