A Europe without the EU – Norway must participate in the community for peace and democracy
DEBATE: Who remembers the fall of the Berlin Wall? More than three million Norwegians were not intended, born or more than 12 years old when it happened. Most of us only know about peacetime.
Debate post
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Charlotte Sørås
Leader, European Movement Rogaland; central board member, European Movement
In the spring of 1989, Norwegian soldiers were on full alert in inner Troms, armed to the teeth, teased to hold back the Soviet Union long enough that there was still a port and an airport left for Allied forces. Then it was over the Cold War, – November 9, 1989, just 32 years ago today.
I sketch “Westphalian Treaty” in the comedy series “The almost complete and complete story of everything” Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, James Dreyfus, Robert Bathurst and Patrick Barflow show in an absurd and satirical way how peace in Westphalia ended wars that had lasted 30 and 80 years, respectively.
Europe has not only been responsible for rapid technological development in recent centuries. The countries have also ravaged and fought and killed each other. We are now delivering in one of the most peaceful periods in our part of Europe for the last 400 years. One can almost say that we live in unusual times.
Poland
The EU is one of the great peace projects of our time. After the Cold War, it has been a requirement that member states have Western values such as democracy, equality, and human rights. Now some countries are shaking at this. The Polish Constitutional Court has opened the door for the country’s increasingly authoritarian government to continue to reduce democracy.
A free and independent press is the cornerstone of a democracy, and it is under attack. The rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people have been severely affected for a long time. A number of Polish municipalities and regions have declared themselves “LGBT-free zones”. It gives eerie associations.
A prerequisite for peace in Europe is that the country trusts each other’s courts. The distinction between the national conservative and right-wing populist ruling party PiS and the courts in Poland is increasingly blurred. In a community of democratic, tolerant and open states, Poland no longer fits in, and the country has not done so for some time.
PiS meets opposition from the EU, which will withhold funds until Poland shows signs of change. They receive daily fines of one million euros – this community of countries, the EU, is now the only thing holding back the Polish government from creating a complete autocracy.
The hope is that Poland now follows the requirements that apply and continues to participate in the community. Many fear «Polexit», as a real risk. But unlike the Brexit case, the Polish government does not have the people on its side. According to NRK supports 80 percent of the population up around the EU, and many thousands have recently demonstrated against the development of the courts.
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Norway needs to be part of a community of democratic states that take responsibility for Western values and the peace project. That community is called the EU.
Norway
When we discuss the EU here in Norway, it is trade and economic considerations that become the topic. Exports, oil and gas, trade. It is crucial to our economy. But peace and common values for the diversity of countries are the bedrock we stand on. Democracy and the protection of vulnerable groups are a requirement for being part of the EU. Norway must support this with a more active European policy that is required.
Democracy and stability are dangerous to take for granted, and developments in Poland show how fragile it is. Norway is a small country in the world. We must support the framework that creates security and predictability, economically, politically and socially for our country, and the countries we work with. Norway needs to be part of a community of democratic states that take responsibility for Western values and the peace project. That community is called the EU.