Borders

If we were constrained to choose between justice and democracy, surely we would opt for justice every time.

The Left in Europe might be tempted to answer with Left-wing populism to the current return of borders and to the broader socioeconomic crisis. This is playing with fire. An escalation of populism would actually benefit Right-wing populism. Only a consistent Europeanisation led by the Left can respond to the 21st century challenges of Europe.

Europeans have to make their societies genuinely inclusive, and Greens could play a constructive role in making this work – says Green MEP Jean Lambert, in an interview with the Green European Journal, which touched on Jeremy Corbyn, Calais and the British response to the refugee crisis.

This year, hundreds of thousands of refugees have entered the EU in the hope of a new life and a safer future for themselves and their families. However, instead of welcoming them, European politicians are trying to keep them out EU territory, or at least away from their own countries.

The effective grassroots campaigning of Scottish communities, who have fought the Scottish government and unconventional gas companies, is an inspiring story for those across the UK and the rest of Europe.

To avoid further catastrophes and deaths in the Mediterranean we need a radical shift in the priorities of EU asylum policies. Increasing the budget of the “Triton” operation of the EU border surveillance agency FRONTEX and doing another minute of silence is not enough!

Scotland has voted No in the referendum on independence, but the outcome was close, relative to expectations at the start of the campaign. The closeness of the vote, as well as the reasons cited by so many in Scotland for voting ‘Yes’, show that the ‘United Kingdom compact’ is no longer fit for purpose.

Europe is dead. Or is it long live Europe? There are those who believe the threat of paralysis and dissolution remains, and those who optimistically seize any small positive sign as a reason to announce (yet again) that Europe’s crises can serve as a springboard.

If we want to put finance on a leash with smart regulation, Greens must take the wind out of their opponent’s sails by having policies that simultaneously unleash finance and restore lending into the real economy and, above all, into a green industrial transformation.

The Bologna process was a step towards creating a “Europe of Knowledge” where ideas and people could travel freely throughout Europe. Yet, this goal is threatened by changes to the structure of the higher education sector and perhaps by the nature of academia itself.