EU suffering from ‘overstretch and over-reach’ – Alfred Sant

MEP Alfred Sant said that the EU is suffering from overstretch and over-reach and that dilemmas and paralysis have emerged from these aspects.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, in reaction to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junkcer’s first ‘state of the union’ speech yesterday, Sant said that the weaknesses within the EU result from developments within the union, not from unforeseen events happening outside or inside Europe.

“Among the problems that affect the Union include the migration crisis, the stand-off in the Ukraine, the tragic Greek muddle and the persisting high unemployment,” Sant pointed out, adding that the solution to Europe’s overstretch and overreach can  -  at least during a first phase -  only be found in political and economic consolidation, not by enhancing overreach. 

He added that the reasons for the weaknesses being demonstrated by the must be correctly recognised if there is any hope of solving them.

“The Union expanded its commitments and aspirations, but the political will was not really there and the means to carry it out is not really available,” Sant said, explaining that its soft power outside its borders continued to increase.

“This adds to the attractiveness of its model, fuelling expectations as to what the Union could do for “people”, and citizens are told that “more Europe” is the solution to this state of affairs.”

“Many European citizens living their daily lives away from the pressures and shared assumptions of political forces involved in the European project, fail to understand what is going on, Sant added.