Open Address To Ursula von der Leyen (2)

Open Address to Ursula von der Leyen (1) (19nth Decembre 2019)

Dear President Dr Ursula von der Leyen,

It seems that my first address went unnoticed which is why your Post-Coronavirus Recovery Plan - as any other of your initiatives - shall fail.

You and your team of "experts" have been trained in tangibles. Yet intangibles determine the fate of tangibles.

For years on end attending countless meetings in all possible topics organised by the EU System (and also outside of course), two expressions stood out nearly every other day: trust and resilience. Both are related. There was unanimity to recognise the importance of trust, but this was apparently for the gallery. Indeed, even though trust was recognised as essential to achieve EU cohesion and coherence, the simple fact that you did not even consider trust during your first hundred days in office was evidence of your arrogance and complete disregard for the citizens. Trust is the least of your concerns. You don't care. You impose, the citizens are to obey, period.

There was already a serious existential and trust crisis regarding the EU System that was deep, underestimated and dangerous before the Covid19 Pandemic. Now it is worse. You and your team have a direct responsibility in the terrible European human toll because of your initial inertia, incompetence and negligence regarding the management of the Covid19 outbreak in Europe. All the money in the world shall not bring the innocent victims back to life. Those who have survived the pandemic shall now become economic hostages, you and your team have made Europe a hostage to Big Finance...

Had you (and the UN) listened to what the New Capacity Building Programme (NCBP) had to offer, none of this would have happened.

If you launch your EU Economic Recovery Programme without first taking the trouble of recovering lost trust, you are going to create havoc in Europe. There shall be enormous tension all over the continent as to who shall/shall not receive financial assistance or loans and how he/she shall refund it plus interests...

It is important to first calm things down so that people can again start listening to and reconnect with each other, creating a listening - instead of an over-stressed coercive - society, which is the best form of violence prevention. This may pave the way to the beginnings of a dialogue, and thereafter perhaps recover lost trust.

The problem you are faced with as explained in my first address is that the EU System as structured shall never recover the citizens' lost trust. The disconnect between the institutions, politicians and the citizens is too profound.

A fundamental institutional architecture revolution is needed with the citizens. This is the only hope to recover the latter's lost trust in institutions.

It is impossible to discuss anything usefully in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust.