Europe is changing, let’s make it for the better
As a human rights lawyer from Romania, I had the chance to live and study both within and outside the EU and witnessed my country change as it attempted to assimilate EU values and norms. The transformation was radical, my country went from a dictatorship which brutally oppressed any dissent, to a democratic state which, with all of its imperfections, allows for basic freedoms, such as the possibility to travel and speak one’s mind. This is by no means a given and generations of Romanians know how important these freedoms are and remember how brutal it is to lose them.
Most people would recognize that the European Union is one of the most ambitious political projects in history and has succeeded in many ways, perhaps most importantly by ensuring peace in Europe. However, today it is struggling and is under threat because too many people feel their voices are not heard. Many of these people have been taking to the streets demanding that their voices be heard but some have also turned to the far right and authoritarian figures for solutions.
The upcoming EU elections will determine which direction European policies will take over the next five years, whether the EU will strengthen its democratic institutions, tackle the real problems the majority of people are facing — like climate change and austerity measures that prevent people from receiving the services they need and deserve. Or whether the EU will backtrack and revisit repression and authoritarian governments.
I am alarmed by the erosion of civil liberties and democratic rights that used to seem so secure. But at the same time, the masses of people standing together and speaking up for common action inspires me with hope.
In the EU, organizations that represent people and nature (so-called non-governmental organisations or NGOs) are facing growing restrictions to their work. An EU report shows that NGOs have been targeted by concentrated smear campaigns and face a series of repressive laws across the EU. Attacks on NGOs, activists and a free press are also confirmed by NGO reports.
In multiple European countries activists have been met with excessive violence. For example, French police used rubber bullets, sting-ball grenades and tear gas against largely peaceful protesters. There have also been reports of German police using violent means against environmental activists. And, there are also a growing number of laws prohibiting activism. For example Spain passed a law which imposed severe restriction on the right to protest, the so called gag law; while Brussels imposes specific time and place restrictions on when and where assemblies can be permitted.
The free press is also under attack across the EU, with some organizations saying “press freedom in Europe is more fragile now than at any time since the end of the Cold War”. In Slovakia, Malta and Bulgaria there recently have been gruesome attacks against journalists.
Hard fought and hard-won battles for equality are now also facing backlash. Referendums targeting the LGBT community in Croatia, Romania and Slovakia have recently been held. Women have also been targeted, we have seen an attempt to tighten Poland’s already strict abortion law and we see strong opposition to the Istanbul convention, a treaty tackling domestic violence, in several countries, including Bulgaria and Croatia. These movements have benefitted from considerable support from US-based fundamentalists, who are believed to have spent over 50 million euro funding them.
All this is certainly ground for despair, but giving up never changed anything and there are also lots of reasons to have hope. I choose to focus on them, because more and more people are standing up to protect each other and the planet, and together we can change the world.
From large feminist protests in Spain, where this year close to one million people joined marches on women’s day, and other countries, such as Poland, Croatia and Italy to thousands to protesting against corruption, like in the case of Romania which had some of the biggest protests since the fall of communism. From the hundreds of thousands — millions? — of climate strikers demanding climate action to the hundreds of thousands protesting against hatred and marching for a better EU the past weekend.
The world — and the EU — are changing. Young — and not so young — people are connecting more easily than ever, taking on serious issues and organizing to ensure all people are respected and cared for and to ensure there will be a planet future generations will be able to live on.
It is in this context that we will vote for the new European Parliament this weekend (23–26 May depending on the country you’re in).
The groundswell on the streets is amazing and inspiring. Those of us old enough to vote have a responsibility to turn up at the polls on elections day, and elect politicians who have demonstrated their commitment to equality, civil rights, democracy and climate action. It’s true that voting alone won’t solve everything, but the more progressive the politicians in office, the easier it will be to achieve progressive goals.
Voting is an opportunity. This weekend, please join me in voting for candidates who will reject efforts to undermine democratic rights and who will instead work to protect them, our planet and the next generation’s future.
Cristinel Buzatu is a legal advisor for Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe
