João César das Neves on the success of the European project

For João César das Neves Europe remains a successful project despite the large number of people who abstained from voting in the European elections. Writing in the Diário de Notícias he argues that to boost Europe's success politicians must realise that the economy is the only factor that links EU countries: "Europe is the last thing Europeans are worried about today. And this appears to have been the case yesterday [Sunday] too, given the low voter turnout. … Unfortunately European institutions form part of the indifference … rather than the success of the project. The great accomplishment of the founders of the European Economic Community was that they understood that the only thing that can unite different nationalities is the economy. And even today the economy is the only reason why neighbouring countries want to join the EU, and others copy them. … But this fundamental truth, which is confirmed with each new EU accession, is easily forgotten in EU cabinets. There people live the dream … they conceive the ideal. … And this is why despite the enormous level of abstention and the fiasco with the constitution and the [Lisbon] treaty the Eurocrats persist with their plans for a super-structure that no one understands. The actions of the EU leaders make Europe into a problem rather than the solution to the problems."

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