By Andros Karagiannis, Mayor of Deryneia:
European leaders have recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the current European Union (EU), which is facing a significant loss, that of Great Britain.
Brexit has caused quite a stir in EU circles, as has the rise of the far right, immigration and the lack of solidarity between Member States. The gap between the rich North and the poor South is constantly widening with statements by European officials about lazy people spending EU money. in fun.
The goal of European leaders is that by the next European elections in 2019, Europe will become more democratic and the voice of the ordinary citizen will be heard more, which seems, at the moment, quite difficult as the rift between North and South exists. The seven leaders of the southern EU states They must continue their meetings and include in the dialogue the countries of North Africa and the Maghreb, with which they have very good relations, mainly France and Spain. An expanded good neighborly relationship should be established from all the countries bordering the Mediterranean, from the Straits of Gibraltar to the shores of the Middle East.
Enlarged co-operation between the seven southern EU member states I believe that with the rest of the Mediterranean countries it will contribute to ensuring security and stability in the region and to the proper management of both the refugee crisis and the preservation of the natural wealth of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean has traditionally been a sea of trade but also of peace, as described by French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melanson.
The EU places particular emphasis on security and defense, ignoring the protection of the weak Mediterranean Member States as well as solidarity between members and neighboring countries. The natural wealth of the Mediterranean should not be a point of conflict but a prospect for future generations to live in a safer, more stable and economically viable place.
The seven countries of southern Europe should step up co-operation with each other and especially with the progressive forces that envision a Europe of many rather than oligarchs. The EU only united could it overcome its internal problems, become more democratic and support the countries of the memorandum and the anti-popular measures imposed on the countries of the South.
Cooperation between the EU and Muslim countries of North Africa is required as it will assist in managing possible reactions within European circles to the outcome of the referendum in Turkey.
It has already been seen that Great Britain is looking to the future with its eyes on the opposite side of the Atlantic after it started the exit procedures from the EU. The countries of the Mediterranean must protect their natural wealth and preserve the energy deposits of our sea, before the pirates return and seize the prey.
Europe has become a family of high-speed states, the poor, the rich, the lazy, the hardworking, the ambitious and many other descriptions that we hear from our own leaders. At the same time that Eastern European countries are building walls to keep refugees away from their borders, Southern European countries are setting up solidarity networks to house them in makeshift settlements.
The European South is different from the North because of its mentality, culture, culture and temperament. The EU It suffers from a lack of social cohesion, unemployment, racism, xenophobia and therefore needs further cooperation between its Member States.
The European South can look up, gazing at the Mediterranean sun for a better future in a Europe of human rights for the many and the weak.
Andros G. Karagiannis
Mayor of Deryneia