A larger, more powerful European Union is now needed in order to stand “against” Washington, a leaked document belonging to Fine Gael’s EU parliamentary group claims.
Members of the European People’s Party — of which Fine Gael is a member — have gathered for a closed-door strategy conference in Sicily this week to discuss plans on how to beat the bloc’s growing political Right.
According to a leaked discussion paper, the party — which boasts European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as a key figure — believes it should work to pump more funding into Brussels, billing the budget increase as necessary to combat hostile foreign powers.
By contrast, it believes billing populist parties as being akin to fifth columns for foreign world powers could help shift public opinion.
“A sense of community holds Europe together. Home and Europe are not a contradiction. Whether you live in Lower Bavaria, Campania or Barcelona, you love your home,” the document reads.
“But you also know that it cannot stand alone against Beijing, Washington or Moscow.”
“The autocrats want us to believe we should undo Europe. They paint ‘Brussels’ as the enemy of the people. Their propaganda only helps China, Trump and Putin, not a single European worker,” it also claims.
“Today, it is not just Europe that is at stake, but whether we will surrender our way of life, our traditions and our economic model. Unlike the populists, we will not hand Europe over to their non-European allies.”
Despite the document billing Donald Trump’s United States as an apparent adversary, the party nevertheless says it wants to agree a “trade framework” with Washington.
“[I]n a hard world, we are protecting Europe and finding new partners, with tougher investment screening, a steel safeguard framework, a trade framework with the United States, and new trade deals,” the party claims.