1
00:00:07,690 --> 00:00:12,950
When Gandhi was asked once
to comment on European civilization,

2
00:00:12,950 --> 00:00:17,247
his quip was,
"It would be a very good idea."

3
00:00:17,870 --> 00:00:20,520
When asked today about
our views on the European Union,

4
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,840
I think we can be excused
to reply in a similar fashion.

5
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,720
What a splendid idea it would be 
if we could only pull it off.

6
00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,000
United only in name,

7
00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,000
the European Union is, I'm afraid,

8
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,410
in a process of disintegration
as we speak.

9
00:00:36,410 --> 00:00:41,530
With the commitment and determination
of a termite colony,

10
00:00:41,530 --> 00:00:43,630
which is eating into the foundations,

11
00:00:43,630 --> 00:00:46,370
very soon there will be nothing left
but an empty shell,

12
00:00:46,370 --> 00:00:51,744
to remind us of the lofty ideal, 
that used to be the European Union.

13
00:00:53,410 --> 00:00:56,000
In Agatha Christie novels

14
00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:01,922
when the reader comes across
in the prologue a group of characters,

15
00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,000
upper class characters usually 
that are congregating some chateau,

16
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,000
the reader knows what to expect,
a series of murders.

17
00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000
Similarly, today when we hear that our
European politicians are gathering today

18
00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000
or together we know what to expect, 
a comedy of errors

19
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,091
which will be wrapped up
in triumphant rhetoric,

20
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,090
but which very soon will prove
to be nothing more

21
00:01:28,090 --> 00:01:31,301
than dangerous harmful waffle.

22
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,250
To err is human.

23
00:01:35,250 --> 00:01:36,940
But to mess up spectacularly

24
00:01:36,940 --> 00:01:39,060
we need an elite 
made up of prime ministers,

25
00:01:39,060 --> 00:01:44,000
presidents, ministers, 
apparatchiks, opinion makers

26
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000
who are determined not to face up

27
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,720
to a systemic crisis systematically.

28
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:55,450
Alas, at least now we have enough evidence

29
00:01:55,450 --> 00:02:00,390
that renders all such denial inexcusable.

30
00:02:00,390 --> 00:02:03,230
Humanity has not surprised itself
very often

31
00:02:03,230 --> 00:02:05,000
but it has done so twice in the past.

32
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,558
Οnce in 1929 and yet again
more recently in 2008.

33
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,333
1929 ought to have taught us
a very simple binary twin lesson.

34
00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:23,984
First that the first victim of such 
a crisis is the common currency.

35
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,000
It was the gold standard in 1929, 
it is the Euro today.

36
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,300
The second victim
is of course truth and civility.

37
00:02:32,300 --> 00:02:36,480
One such terrible crisis hits the world.

38
00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:42,720
A Hobbesian war of all against all
is unleashed on an unsuspecting humanity

39
00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,000
and the first victim is our capacity 
to recognize the systemic crisis

40
00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,360
we are in, as a systemic crisis.

41
00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:54,950
And therefore it renders us incapable
of accepting our responsibility

42
00:02:54,950 --> 00:02:59,070
for at least a portion of that crisis.

43
00:03:00,450 --> 00:03:06,215
Thrillers begin with 
some cunning detective who is unmasking

44
00:03:07,260 --> 00:03:11,360
one shady character after the other.

45
00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:13,956
But good thrillers, 
I submit to you,

46
00:03:13,956 --> 00:03:17,322
do not end with 
the unveiling of the perpetrator.

47
00:03:17,322 --> 00:03:19,710
Τhey go one step further.

48
00:03:19,710 --> 00:03:22,716
Τhey reach the momentus moment

49
00:03:22,716 --> 00:03:28,416
when the cunning detective
inadvertently unmasks himself.

50
00:03:29,662 --> 00:03:34,720
Bewildered he is staring 
at his own image in the mirror.

51
00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,070
This crisis is having
a similar effect on all of us.

52
00:03:39,070 --> 00:03:41,590
Our masks are falling.

53
00:03:41,590 --> 00:03:45,280
Unscrupulous bankers, inane politicians,

54
00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:51,230
conniving entrepreneurs,
cynical academics,

55
00:03:51,310 --> 00:03:55,000
uncritical citizens,
who are all being unmasked

56
00:03:55,050 --> 00:04:00,760
but as their masks keep falling
the dejection is becoming generalized.

57
00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:04,220
Meanwhile the human costs 
are mounting up

58
00:04:04,220 --> 00:04:06,130
and the only way of making sense of them

59
00:04:06,130 --> 00:04:11,130
and measuring them sensibly 
is by means of counting lost generations.

60
00:04:11,460 --> 00:04:17,688
It is time to transform Europe 
and to be transformed in the process.

61
00:04:18,740 --> 00:04:23,000
Now, the medical profession
only very recently

62
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,721
managed to save
more people than it killed.

63
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:33,830
Up until the 1920s or so 
the disease was preferable to the cure.

64
00:04:34,260 --> 00:04:36,530
Similarly with the Εuro crisis now

65
00:04:36,530 --> 00:04:39,350
our European leaders are enacting,

66
00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,906
what I call a poisonous medicine.

67
00:04:42,906 --> 00:04:45,552
Toxic bailouts, inane austerity.

68
00:04:45,552 --> 00:04:50,340
We created, in order to salvage
a Εuro system, a currency union

69
00:04:50,340 --> 00:04:54,000
which was never meant,
never designed to sustain

70
00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,000
the catastrophe of 2008,

71
00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,830
the shockwaves of that great earthquake.

72
00:04:58,830 --> 00:05:01,000
What we have done is we created a scaffold

73
00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,790
which is, instead of helping
the edifice from collapsing

74
00:05:04,790 --> 00:05:06,750
it is putting more pressure on it.

75
00:05:06,750 --> 00:05:09,730
We've created 
this European Financial Stability

76
00:05:09,730 --> 00:05:11,960
or Instability Facility

77
00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:13,210
and we modeled it.

78
00:05:13,210 --> 00:05:17,880
We created it in the image 
of Lehman Brothers' infamous derivatives.

79
00:05:17,910 --> 00:05:19,513
It was as if we took two stones

80
00:05:19,513 --> 00:05:21,826
and we tied them together
by means of a string,

81
00:05:21,826 --> 00:05:25,000
hoping they will float more readily.

82
00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,900
The result of course
is the uncontrolled disintegration

83
00:05:27,900 --> 00:05:30,320
that we are experiencing.

84
00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,560
Now, by now most people
are realizing this.

85
00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:39,000
So what we have here is
a new Jerusalem that is being canvased.

86
00:05:39,270 --> 00:05:43,000
It comes in the form 
of the so called "Federal Option."

87
00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,380
Well-meaning Europeans 
and some friends from federal field

88
00:05:47,380 --> 00:05:52,788
recite this litany of federal concepts,
ideas, suggestions.

89
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,160
I'll just give you some.

90
00:05:55,160 --> 00:06:00,000
We hear of the importance of forging
a Fiscal or a Transfer Union in Europe,

91
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,480
of having a Federal Treasury,

92
00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:08,000
of giving a new Leviathan, 
a new Economic Czar

93
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:13,262
the power to rule over all of us 
with an armed fist and keep us in awe.

94
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,790
What we hear about is Centralized
Disposal of National Assets,

95
00:06:17,790 --> 00:06:20,550
particularly of the Greek kind.

96
00:06:20,550 --> 00:06:22,440
The laws of National Sovereignty

97
00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,960
as a price we have 
to pay for this Fiscal Union

98
00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,320
and of course the dreaded treaty changes

99
00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:32,554
that have to go through 
27 parliaments and/or electorates.

100
00:06:33,430 --> 00:06:37,000
I submit to you that this is both
unworkable and undesirable.

101
00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:38,680
Why is it unworkable?

102
00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,660
Because
- and this is a message to federalists -

103
00:06:41,660 --> 00:06:45,220
the worst enemy of federalism
at the moment is itself.

104
00:06:45,220 --> 00:06:48,000
And the reason why
I'm saying this is because

105
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,967
if we move in the federals' direction

106
00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:56,000
the crisis is certain to outpace us.

107
00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:57,820
It would run faster than we do.

108
00:06:57,820 --> 00:07:02,000
And when the treaty changes take longer
than the collapse of the Euro,

109
00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,000
all we will be left with 
is the smouldering mess

110
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,420
in which there will be
nothing left to federate.

111
00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:15,469
But there is a second reason 
why this Federal Option needs to be shunt

112
00:07:15,900 --> 00:07:20,790
and it is that if the United States
of Europe is a good idea,

113
00:07:20,790 --> 00:07:26,770
it is not an idea that should be
wasted and subsumed

114
00:07:26,770 --> 00:07:31,533
in the context of trying
to solve the current crisis.

115
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,630
Let me put it very simply.
The Federal Option will only be possible

116
00:07:35,630 --> 00:07:38,790
once the crisis is over, 
not as an antidote to the crisis.

117
00:07:38,790 --> 00:07:42,650
We will only be capable 
and worthy of federation,

118
00:07:42,650 --> 00:07:45,360
when as European we can imagine the future

119
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,620
in which Greeks and Germans

120
00:07:47,620 --> 00:07:51,810
will be voting in Greek and German
politicians to represent us.

121
00:07:51,810 --> 00:07:56,920
We will only be able to affect 
a decent Federal Europe

122
00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,660
when we can imagine a situation 
where our national armies

123
00:08:01,660 --> 00:08:06,000
are dissolved and are merged
into a common European Defense force.

124
00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,280
We are only going to be able 
to put together a decent Federation

125
00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:15,650
if we can imagine a situation
where our views are assessed

126
00:08:15,650 --> 00:08:19,490
within Europe on the basis
of their merits and the merits alone,

127
00:08:19,490 --> 00:08:23,000
what the ancient Athenians
used to refer as "Isigoria."

128
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,666
As opposed to judging what somebody says

129
00:08:25,666 --> 00:08:28,492
on the basis of the who they are,
what accent they speak in

130
00:08:28,492 --> 00:08:30,490
which country they come from,

131
00:08:30,490 --> 00:08:34,330
and finally at a symbolic, 
but a very important level,

132
00:08:34,330 --> 00:08:39,320
let me say this, we are only going 
to be capable of a proper federation

133
00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:43,810
when we can decide as Europeans
what to print on our euro notes.

134
00:08:43,810 --> 00:08:50,215
Instead of these abstract bridges
and gates that symbolize one thing,

135
00:08:50,690 --> 00:08:55,000
our incapacity to agree on common symbols.

136
00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,000
So if I'm right that the new Jerusalem
is not really a new Jerusalem,

137
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,750
and that it is putting forward 
an unworkable and undesirable idea,

138
00:09:04,750 --> 00:09:09,000
which will also lead 
to uncontrolled disintegration,

139
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,360
then what is the alternative?

140
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,520
Well, let me suggest to you
that before we agree in an alternative,

141
00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,000
perhaps we should agree
on some shared principles

142
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,820
that should govern our future.

143
00:09:19,820 --> 00:09:24,867
Τhese future principles 
may seem contradictory

144
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,000
but they can be rendered harmoniously

145
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,000
and if they can't then we have no future.

146
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,380
Let me give you examples.

147
00:09:32,380 --> 00:09:36,230
One principle is that I think we should
end the perfectly partitioned Europe

148
00:09:36,230 --> 00:09:39,750
that we created in Maastricht
in order to create the Euro,

149
00:09:39,750 --> 00:09:43,770
while at the same time however, 
strengthening National Sovereignty

150
00:09:43,770 --> 00:09:48,290
and empowering National Responsibility
within that model.

151
00:09:48,310 --> 00:09:50,490
Another set.

152
00:09:50,490 --> 00:09:52,030
End the soothest solidarity

153
00:09:52,030 --> 00:09:54,440
which is being imposed upon
the Dutch and the Germans

154
00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:59,110
in order to give bailouts, pretend
bailouts to the Greeks and to the Irish.

155
00:09:59,110 --> 00:10:03,380
Stop inane austerity which is only
making the debt crisis worse.

156
00:10:03,380 --> 00:10:09,020
Ignore all the calls for debt buybacks
which will not work,

157
00:10:09,020 --> 00:10:14,000
but at the same time integrate investment
and management of our problems

158
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,000
like existing debt and banking losses.

159
00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,913
This is what I refer to
as decentralized europeanization

160
00:10:20,913 --> 00:10:23,056
so allow me an acronym.

161
00:10:23,056 --> 00:10:25,000
Decent Europe.

162
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:26,470
Europeanize what?

163
00:10:26,470 --> 00:10:28,480
Free realms.

164
00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,000
We need a management 
of existing debt at a European level.

165
00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,000
We need management of the banking sector

166
00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,340
which is collapsing all over us,

167
00:10:36,340 --> 00:10:42,000
and we need a europeanized
investment policy in aggregate.

168
00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,990
How do we do this
without treaty changes and federation?

169
00:10:44,990 --> 00:10:47,890
We already have existing
institutions in Europe

170
00:10:47,890 --> 00:10:50,810
and each one of them
can be assigned one of these tasks.

171
00:10:50,810 --> 00:10:52,710
I'm not going to go into this.

172
00:10:52,710 --> 00:10:54,440
This is not the place or the time.

173
00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,000
You can see more 
of this proposal elsewhere.

174
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,620
All I want to do now
is to give you a flavor

175
00:11:00,620 --> 00:11:03,610
of what the whole purpose of this is.

176
00:11:03,610 --> 00:11:06,460
Decentralized europeanization
creates circumstances

177
00:11:06,460 --> 00:11:08,900
for national sovereignty
and national responsibility

178
00:11:08,900 --> 00:11:09,970
to be strengthened.

179
00:11:09,970 --> 00:11:14,233
Because if we integrate
these three spheres in Europe

180
00:11:14,233 --> 00:11:17,916
of existing debt, of banks 
and investment flows,

181
00:11:17,916 --> 00:11:19,730
then at the national level

182
00:11:19,730 --> 00:11:22,820
each member state 
can run a balanced budget,

183
00:11:22,820 --> 00:11:25,180
and can learn to live within its means,

184
00:11:25,180 --> 00:11:29,000
and also to be empowered
within these limits

185
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,000
to exercise a full national sovereignty.

186
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,330
So I present
this Decent Europe proposal to you

187
00:11:36,330 --> 00:11:40,360
as if you want a forger 
of a future Federation's prerequisite,

188
00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,288
which I already mentioned
and I won't mention again.

189
00:11:45,810 --> 00:11:48,300
Let me finish by reminding you of a myth,

190
00:11:48,300 --> 00:11:50,810
according which Sibyl of Cumae

191
00:11:50,810 --> 00:11:54,840
offered Tarquinius Superbus,
the king of Rome at the time,

192
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:59,000
the nine books of wisdom at a price that
Tarquinius considered to be exorbitant

193
00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,320
and therefore he said no to the offer.

194
00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:06,000
Sibyl as you all know started burning 
one of these volumes after the other

195
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,000
until Tarquinius relented agreeing
to pay the original high price

196
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,000
for the remaining three volumes.

197
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:17,470
Let me suggest that the European crisis
is following Sibyl's strategy.

198
00:12:17,470 --> 00:12:21,000
The problem is that our European leaders
keep saying no

199
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,460
and therefore threatening

200
00:12:23,460 --> 00:12:29,250
to allow our common heritage
to burn in its entirety.

201
00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:35,350
Decentralized europeanization
offers Europe a chance

202
00:12:35,770 --> 00:12:39,260
to save its last three books 
of wisdom or the equivalent.

203
00:12:39,260 --> 00:12:43,240
It offers us a chance 
to usher in a new era

204
00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,000
in which Europeans, 
Northern and Southern,

205
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:51,270
Western and Eastern,
can stare into each others eyes

206
00:12:51,270 --> 00:12:54,350
and see and recognize a partner.

207
00:12:54,350 --> 00:12:56,620
If we miss this chance,

208
00:12:56,620 --> 00:12:59,310
then Europe is going 
to be dragging the whole planet

209
00:12:59,310 --> 00:13:03,080
into a despicable mire
for a third time in a century.

210
00:13:03,460 --> 00:13:08,780
It is our duty and over overarching 
obligation to prevent this.

211
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,670
Thank you.

212
00:13:10,790 --> 00:13:13,825
(Applause)