Othmar Karas, the First Vice President of the European Parliament, recently gave an online talk on the topic of the global partnership between Europe and the United States, moderated by IES Director Jeroen Dewulf, Andreas Altmann, president of MCI Innsbruck, and Wolfgang Petritsch, president of the Austrian Marshall Foundation. The conversation was attended by some 2,000 people. He emphasized that in the center of the relations between the two regions is the conflict with Russia and their decision to support Ukraine. Karas believes that there needs to be a more coherent response to this issue as well as to other crises facing the world, including climate change, competitiveness, the fight between democracies and authoritarianism, and digitalization. He noted that these crises can make us realize how under-equipped we are in security policy and research policy, which is why the EU is a project that we have to continuously develop in order for it to work in response to crises.
Karas discussed how crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Green Deal have made Europe more powerful than in the past. He argues for the development of a European defense policy that would be complementary to NATO and capable of acting outside the EU. European defense, in his eyes, should be an equal partner to the US and to NATO. The EU needs to have the ability to act outside of its borders in order to defend its interests.
The topic of Brexit was also brought up during the discussion. He highlighted that the trade deal between the US and UK never happened after Brexit and that the UK is in fact weaker than it was before. This has made it difficult for the EU to find new partners, and it has weakened the transatlantic partnership. Brexit has also shown weaknesses in the EU decision-making process and has diminished the value of EU partnership.
Karas then responded to a question about migration. He stressed the need for a common European solution, controlled and financed by the EU. Karas emphasized the need to differentiate between the refugee issue and the migration issue, noting that not all migrants are refugees. He believes that we need a kind of “inside solidarity system” for refugees, as European countries desperately need workers in certain fields such as hospitality and social services.
Finally, Karas discussed what it means to be European and the core facets of European identity. He noted that the citizens of the EU are united by peace, liberal democracy, rule of law, common values, the four freedoms, the euro, and by a single market. Karas emphasized that these values are the foundation of the European project, and unite the member states into a more powerful whole.