Reinventing Europe : Launch of the project Europe 2020 (Franck Biancheri, Athens May 1998)

In this speech of Athens, delivered in the Congress “Reinventing Europe : Launch of the project Europe 2020” organized in May 1998 by Prometheus-Europe networks, Franck Biancheri delineates 2020 as the horizon to successfully transform Europe taking into account the challenges of history: Euro, enlargement, new century, new world … a Europe that should be democratic, transparent, efficient, exploring the path of sustainable development, a Europe in the world that is serene, active, without hang-ups, aware of its history and its consequences …

In line with his 1985 commitment, when he founded AEGEE-Europe, the declaration announced the creation of the think-tank Europe 2020 in 1999, the launching of the Newropeans 2000 conference: “New Europe, new generations, new challenges, the publication of the book “Vision Europe 2020” based on which Franck Biancheri initiated the first European democratic marathon around the theme “Where is Europe going? “.

The Athens speech is a fundamental one that challenges past, present and future, the institutions and their civil servants, policy makers, economic leaders, media, networks, and citizens, the European community on the path that Europe has already known, and the ways open to it.

A speech which, unfortunately, has not taken a wrinkle – Europe just became heavier: the euro in the pockets of 350 million citizens, a Europe-15 extended to 28, today as yesterday the same question: where are we? where is Europe? what is needed to reinvent Europe?

And the statement is the same today as Franck Biancheri brought 20 years earlier: we can only be very worried about the ride we took…

As Franck Biancheri had anticipated: “admist the problems which the Euro might face, in the period of expansion, the impact is going to increase, and so is the importance of … anti-democratic movements”, accumulating, as Franck Biancheri described it: “bizarre démago-political cocktails from nationalistiv ideas with the aspirations to obtain an exclusive and authoritarian Europe”… Adding to that the fact that growth is no longer, we are left to understand that between yesterday and today, we played the fate of European citizens roulette.

March 11, 2020, in 4 years, let’s meet and review the “Project Europe 2020″.

History, successes, failures, lessons and handing over to the new generations will be presented during a major conference aimed at bringing together all those who have met Franck and his successors along these past 35 years of an enormous fight for the anchoring of the European administrative machinery to European citizens’ interest. A historical Congress in order to assess the work and to hand over the European democratization project to the new generations, real owners of this 21^st century Europe. From now on, all those who have crossed Franck’s path, who either met him personally or his successors since 1985, are cordially invited to make themselves known. -> More about: Europe 2020 Congress (or join our event on facebook).

The Athens speech will obviously be a reference to allow us measure the successes and failures of European construction.

→ Download pdf: Reinventing Europe : Launch of the project Europe 2020 (Franck Biancheri, Athens May 1998)