Citizens deserve more than blue balloons and merchandise

Europe’s new generations need a new narrative.

I could not agree more with Dominique Moïsi (“Europe’s generation of doubters”, 20 -26 May) that Europe’s new generations need a new narrative. Sadly, however, Europe Day celebrations this year were a missed opportunity to shape it.

Only a few days before, on 5 May, three fellow Europeans from Greece lost their lives in street riots caused by other European citizens, who revolted against measures perceived as ‘European’ fiscal discipline.

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As an EU communication officer, I had been expecting from hierarchy and leaders a crisp instruction along the lines of: “Folks, our Union is going through crucial hours. This is not a time for celebration. The offices of the European Parliament and European Commission throughout Europe shall cancel all festive events. Perhaps, instead, do encourage civil society to reflect on that key passage of Schuman’s declaration, the one that evokes ‘solidarité de fait’. Do feed the outcome of this back into the institutions. Prove that we do listen.”

As European Voice’s readers will have noticed, that instruction did not come. Well-oiled machineries set up the predictable array of open-air, open-door, open-house events, Europe concerts, Europe games, Europe quizzes, with the unavoidable blue balloons, gadgets and flag-waving, anthem-singing children.

Meanwhile, disquieting pictures from Greece told us yet again the tale of elites falling out of touch with people in the street. Faced with that, we came up with no better narrative than cheerfully looking back to a declaration read out 60 years ago, by a member of the elite and before an audience – the press – thriving close to it.

A gesture more in tune with those pictures and with the worried discourse unfolding in European media would have been an honest piece of communication. The real one, one that reconnects, one that includes. Perhaps new narratives should start here.

Carlo Marzocchi

Rome