„Pulse of Europe“ is a new, pan-European civil society movement. Every Sunday, citizens in various European cities gather in large numbers, to voice their support for safeguarding the European idea. Instead of protesting against something, ordinary citizens from different fragments of society are taking the streets to demonstrate for something, for a common purpose, for a European future. At their meetings, they proudly carry blue flags with 12 yellow stars and sing the European anthem, “the ode to joy”.
This popular movement has spread all across Europe. It conveys a positive message and initiates new political courage to fight for a more united Europe. This collective effort is an important rebuttal of arguments put forward Eurosceptic minorities. For too long, these groups have attempted to undermine the rights and freedoms gained over many decades in the European integration process.
Although expected, it was very encouraging to see progressive, pro-European political parties win the general election in the Netherlands.
In the run-up to the election, analysts and pollsters had feared that populist forces could win a majority of the votes in the Netherlands. These fears appear to have been unfounded. In the Dutch general election, voters overwhelmingly turned out for established, EU-friendly, Christian and progressive parties. The acting Prime Minister Mark Rutte from the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VDD) is expected to lead a coalition government going forward. Mr Rutte will likely obtain the support of Christian and liberal democratic parties in order to obtain the necessary majority to govern.
In another significant political development on the European continent, Emmanuel Macron was elected as the new President of France a few weeks ago. Mr Macron is a liberal and progressive politician, with a firmly pro-European agenda.
The REMONDIS Group is headquartered in North Rhine Westphalia. Located in the western part of Germany, it is the largest state in the German Federation with next to 18 million inhabitants. In the European Union, only the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy and Poland account for more residents than this German State. Moreover, North Rhine Westphalia lies at the very heart of Europe. In recent elections, pro-European forces won a clear majority of the seats in the regional parliament. The newly elected head of government, Armin Laschet, was a Member of the European Parliament for many years.
In October 2017, Austria will hold a snap election. The call to the voting booths ahead of schedule was triggered by the leader of Austria’s People’s Party (ÖVP), Sebastian Kurz. Mr Kurz is a political phenomenon: At only 30 years of age, he is Austria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Kurz is known to fend for his political objectives with great ability, making use of his charisma and unbent political determination.
As Austria’s Foreign Minister, he was a key figure in resolving the European refugee crisis: Conflicts in Africa and the Middle East had triggered a mass migratory movement to Europe. Refugees travelled in great numbers over the “Balkan route” to reach countries such as Germany, Austria and the Scandinavian countries. The refugee crisis triggered an important societal debate in Austria. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what political path Austrians will choose going forward. Although Austria has had a tendency towards populism, it would not be surprising to see progressive forces win a large majority in the election for the Austrian national assembly.
Finally, the recent parliamentary election in the United Kingdom on 8 June will also have important consequences. At this point, it is still difficult to assess whether the result of this election will affect BREXIT negotiations. The hope to find pro-European forces outside of Northern Ireland and Scotland, who would seek to reverse Brexit, is farfetched. The negotiations over BREXIT will be long and complicated; they will likely leave both sides worse off, and reduce both prosperity and stability in Europe.
