Last week, Lorena López de Lacalle (Basque Country) was reelected President of the European Free Alliance. She is now starting her third mandate as the leader of the European Party of self-determination.
Nantes, the historical capital of Brittany, held the General Assembly of the European Free Alliance this year. The European political party renewed its political leadership and re-elected Basque politician Lorena López de Lacalle as President. The European Free Alliance is the only European political party that defends the right to self-determination as a cornerstone for European democracy. EFA is an alliance of 39 parties representing stateless nations, regions, and minorities across Europe.
Q: It will be your third mandate as EFA President. After 6 years in this role, how do you face the following 3 years to come?
A: I have high expectations. I think that over the past six years, we increased our visibility and managed to spread our political message not only in the regions where our parties are strong, but also within the European institutions. We want to push for a Europe where everyone has a voice – including regions, minorities, young people, and women.
Q: The new EFA Bureau has some new incorporations. What will they bring to the table?
A: Yes, parties like Union Démocratique Bretonne or DEB Partisi, the Party of the Turkish minority in Greece, have been elected as part of the party executive. So, the party leadership brings together different people from all around Europe, including regions calling for more decentralization, minorities fighting for their rights and recognition, or stateless nations striving for their right to decide their own future. We work all together for a more democratic and diverse Europe.
Q: What are the main challenges that Europe is facing? How are we supposed to face them?
The old international order is breaking down. And we need to work together to step up as a relevant geopolitical actor. Unfortunately, though, we don’t see the European leaders working together, instead, everyone is doing their own thing. To make sure that Europe is not left behind we need to strengthen the European project and democracy, to act in a coordinated way, to set aside egos and internal power struggles, and to work in service of the EU and the European project.
A: What do you mean by “strengthening” democracy?
A: Our population is much more impoverished compared to 10 years ago. The different crises have resulted in a lot of people not living in decent conditions. “Strengthening” democracy means taking care of the citizens’ needs, listening to them, and acting to give a response. You cannot turn your back on what citizens are calling for in the streets. And the EU has done it before. For example, they turned their back on the Catalan people back in 2017, when they were peacefully but consistently taking to the streets to call for their right to vote. They also turned their back on minorities when they refused to initiate legal acts based on the Minority Safe Pack Initiative. The EU needs to listen better to everyone.
On the other hand, the EU should also be closer to the citizens and ease communication. Even we, as a European political party, sometimes struggle to find an interlocutor in the Commission. To give an example, there is not direct interlocutor when it comes to islands. When we bring to the Commission the proposal to create a specific status for islands, something that is a common need to recognize the particularities of the population of all the EU islands, we don’t have a clear responsible person to work with. You cannot knock on seven different doors to get an answer. Better coordination between the Commissioners is needed.
Q: EFA calls to build a “Europe for all”. What does this mean?
A: We still live in the “Europe of states’ interests”, and that is not enough. States must understand that they need to make room for diversity. All the people EFA represents have this in common: they want the right to decide. They want to be recognized. They want to live in their own language. They want more decentralization and to have competencies. They want to decide at the local or regional level because decisions taken from the state capitals don’t work for them. It is about tolerance and respect the differences that we have within our own borders.
Q: Does Europe take enough into account the voice of the regions?
A: Nowadays regions are expected to implement decisions made by others. State capitals decide, and then the regions have the burden of implementing all the European regulations. Rights and responsibilities are completely imbalanced.
Q: How could this change?
A: The Committee of the Regions is currently only a consultative body. We need to give it real power that allows it to influence and amend European legislation.
On the other hand, we also need to make the voting system fairer. European Parliament constituencies should reflect the regional diversity within the states. Therefore, we should eliminate unfair barriers to representation, like electoral thresholds – sometimes imposed with the aim to exclude national minorities from representation –, or mega-constituencies, like is the case in the Spanish or French states.
Q: Which tip would you give to Von der Leyen to make everyone feel equally included and respected in the EU?
A: To resist the pressures of the member states, and to always remember that behind every policy and decision, there are real people with real emotions and lives that are affected.