Gabriele Bischoff (S&D MEP): “Europe can no longer operate as a technocratic project”

Gabriele Bischoff, president of the Spinelli Group and a Member of the European Parliament with the Socialists & Democrats, visited Athens for the Federal Committee meeting of the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and UEF-Greece.
We had the opportunity to speak with her briefly on the sidelines of the opening session, held in the Senate Hall of the Hellenic Parliament, where she stressed that Europe has reached a “make-or-break moment.”

You mentioned that the EU is at a “make-or-break moment.” Why do you say that?
We’re facing enormous challenges. The geopolitical environment is extremely unstable. The model of globalisation we once knew is essentially history. We’re seeing rising nationalism in many member states, and we’re grappling with issues related to the competitiveness of our industry and our broader economic model.
Economies that rely heavily on exports, for example, are now under tremendous strain. In this context, we urgently need a strong European response.
We’re also in a period of war on European soil, and what we see is that Europe no longer plays a real role. Just look at Trump’s recent proposals and the so-called 28-point plan.
If Europe wants to play a meaningful role in the world, if it wants a strong economy, if it wants to become more self-reliant and reinforce its strategic capacity, then it must change course. It needs the resources and the policies to be a powerful actor and to secure future prosperity for everyone.

You highlight the ongoing geopolitical shifts. In what ways do you think Federalists-or the Socialists & Democrats-need to reposition themselves to be more effective?
If the European Union had followed Federalist recommendations earlier-particularly on treaty reform-and if the proposals put forward by the Socialists & Democrats had been taken up, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in today.
Had we taken the next steps in security and foreign policy-reducing, for instance, the scope for vetoes and speaking with one European voice-we might already be there. Had we had the courage to advance integration at key moments…

Do you think the same applies to deepening the single market? Especially if we were to take the Draghi and Letta reports as a compass for the future…
When Jacques Delors created the single market, he had a vision for Europe-one that was explicitly political.
Today, if we treat the single market simply as a “technocratic exercise,” and focus only on technical measures about where we want the EU to go, it simply won’t work.
If everyone cherry-picks the bits they like from the Draghi and Letta reports, without reopening a discussion about a broader European project-about a vision for Europe with concrete steps-we won’t succeed. Europe can no longer function as a purely technocratic endeavour.

Given the obstacles you’ve described, are you optimistic about the future?
Yes, because I’ve seen that Europe is capable of acting decisively when under intense pressure. We saw it during COVID-19, and again when the war began.
I would prefer to see an EU that reforms itself in good times, because when you’re under pressure you have to act very fast-and that sometimes leads to mistakes.
But I know, and I’m convinced, that Europe can change in extremely difficult circumstances-and we are already in such circumstances.
How many wake-up calls do we need-take Trump’s plan for Ukraine, for example-before the EU really responds? How many alarms must ring?