It is said in Brussels that the European Community is a very large house built with very small bricks (words of Javier Elorza, a learned Spanish diplomat). These lines are not without reason, because we no longer unite because there are potential "solidarities of fact", as Jean Monnet stated, but now we do so as a reaction to challenges that overwhelm us and threaten us seriously.
When our agendas and social networks remind us of the urgency of celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on December 10, 1948; and, no less important, the 45th anniversary of our Magna Carta, the Constitution of 78, it was 9:15 in the morning, the moment I am writing these lines, and in the newspaper El País, I read the story of Anastasio Barreto. A rabbit farmer of about 90 years old who narrated a story of desperation and courage in his departure from the Canary Islands to South America when he was very young.
This story, which hints at the difficult situation that so many Canarians were going through in the mid-last century in the Canary Islands, pressured by the political, economic and social context, is not far from the journey - risky, without guarantees and at an onerous cost - of those migrants who now arrive in the Canary Islands from the African continent.
Again, a few days ago, I returned to Brussels and had the opportunity to see the exhausting and marathon pace of negotiations in an effort to conclude the so-called "trilogues" (legislative procedures with the three European Institutions of greatest decisive weight: Council of the EU, European Parliament and European Commission) whether they want to or not, to comply with the calendar promised at the beginning of the 2019/2024 European legislature.
In line with the above, the Canary Islands is once again a protagonist in the Community political arena. It seems that the current Government has taken over from the previous one and they have understood that the Canary Islands cannot be locked in its Ivory Tower, and that there is no other choice but to remain united to survive and face the increasingly frightening challenges, such as the migratory phenomenon. I recognize and value with satisfaction that the Canary Islands is leading the working group on migration of the regional parliaments of Europe. It is known by all that the Canary Islands - an Outermost Region whose singularity is reflected in Article 349 TFEU - is the deadliest route to the European Union of all.
In addition to the action of the Government of the Canary Islands, the European Parliament is working tirelessly to complete one of the great objectives, not only of the legislature, but of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union: the Pact on Migration and Asylum. A package of measures composed of 5 Regulations - legislative acts of direct application and binding in the individual Member States - that seek to provide a response to the migration crisis from shared responsibility and binding solidarity among the 27 sovereign States.
The story of Anastasio Barreto reminds us, firmly, of the need to respect the dignity of the people who appear on our coasts, to guarantee legal and safe routes in compatibility with the framework of fundamental rights of the EU, which constitutes, according to the book 'The Brussels Effect' by Professor Anu Bradford, the highest in the world.
The successive crises, climate change, social policies, security, financial crises, pandemics, the digital revolution, the new multipolar framework with powers, already dominant, such as China, or the questioning of the rules of the game, require a joint vision, a response on a European scale that includes proposals from all opinions.
However, it will not be an easy task to dilute the hate speech of those forces that look at migration as a negative, divisive process contrary to all social, political and economic order. Overcoming differences is a healthy exercise for democratic systems. Dismantling, therefore, Euro-skeptic political forces whose raison d'être is a stubborn look at a non-existent reality, and who, with contumacy, in the media and international forums, paint an image of Spain that they neither understand, nor accept, nor respect nor love, requires reflection and conviction.
Let's hope to have that reflection next December 27 in Lanzarote. On the occasion of the next European elections in June 2024, and the leadership role that the Canary Islands plays in the Community agenda, there will be a space - which I am honored to organize and moderate - where both speakers and attendees will have the opportunity to exchange opinions and raise the voice of the Canary Islands towards the European Union, of which we are proudly part.
The European Union is still an unfinished project, be encouraged to continue building from debate and dialogue.
