EFNI participants call on EU to reform to regain citizen trust

Participants of the sixth European Forum for New Ideas (EFNI) agreed Thursday in the Polish seaside resort of Sopot that the European Union (EU) currently undergoes a severe crisis and it urgently needs a deep and far-reaching reform.

The three-day event, which is attended by 1,000 guests and 140 speakers, centered around regaining public credibility by politicians involved in the European project.

Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, in his speech cited terrorism, globalization, migration and the economic crisis as the main challenges the EU is facing.

Janusz Lewandowski, member of the European Parliament, stressed that the EU finds itself in a difficult situation mainly because "the migrant crisis, populism and xenophobia proved that it cannot exist in its current form."

He added that its member states have to reinforce EU border security, impose more strict control over the influx of migrants and create a new institution, besides NATO, that would be better equipped to cope with outside threats.

Lewandowski also reminded that the possible failure of the euro would create serious disparities between countries within and those outside the Eurozone.

Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that the debate about the future of the European Union should also seriously take into account the idea of nation states.

"Cultural and national identity should not be regarded as contradictory with EU spirit. They both form an inherent part of its core values," he added.

Referring to the British decision to leave the EU, he said that the campaign of the voting was based on false assumptions, and had nothing to do with reality.

EFNI is an international meeting of the business milieus focusing on the future of Europe and its economy in the broad, global context. Endit