A future for the European Union without the gap between northern and southern countries

An invisible line divides the countries of the north and south of the European Union not because of their geographical position, but because of their socioeconomic differences. It is a latent gap, so much so that the citizens participating in the Conference on the Future of Europe yearn for a future in which this line is blurred and internal imbalances are a thing of the past.

The disparities between north and south, which sometimes even reach ideas about the path that the community club has to travel, starred in the resounding clash between the so-called “frugal” countries (Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria) and the rest of member states for the European Fund for Economic Recovery after the Pandemic.

At that moment, the debate of that Europe came back to the fore at “two speeds”, as defined by José Luis Granjel (59 years old, Barcelona).

“The countries of the south depend on a lot of aid to develop and I understand that they are tired of helping us. But if what they really want is a strong EU, we all have to put the batteries together for some to give in and others to take and advance in what we want, ”this biologist points out to Efe.

Juha Kontu, a 62-year-old Finn, is one of those citizens who is not willing to “pay the bills and debts of other countries,” he says.

“It is very expensive for us. We have very high taxes and not to pay your debts (from countries like Spain). In the north you have to work hard, while in the south they have an easy life ”, says this former journalist, who clarifies that this weekend, in which 200 citizens from all over the EU gather, can help to dispel this type of ideas.

Breaking part of that mantra of a prosperous, wealthy and working North and a poorer South with a weaker economy is what Berit Pipper, a 24-year-old German girl, hopes that the citizen panels are the “perfect occasion ”To know the perspective of the rest of the EU citizens.

“I think I have really changed my perspective these days. We should not blame countries for investing money, I think we should be together and that Europe does not lose that sense of community, “he says.

Because, in the end, “all countries have benefits in one way or another in the EU” either by aid or by ensuring a common market that facilitates export, says David Peters, 56, from the Netherlands.

“I don’t count the money or where it goes, but I’m sure it will help,” says Peters, who would like there to be more solidarity within the EU to move all together towards a “greener, more sustainable and healthier” future.

Division and stereotypes force that “there is no feeling of unity”, affirms María López (22 years old, A Coruña) who has the feeling that southern countries are “second rate”, where the rest of Europeans go to ” have fun, party “, while everything” serious, work “is located in the north.

“It’s like they have good ideas and for us it’s just going out to party and having a laugh,” says Elena Rodríguez (19 years old, Madrid) who envisions a future for the EU where “there are no internal borders” , a space of diversity and languages ​​but that everyone feels really European.

For this, it would be necessary some type of training promoted from the school on the rest of the cultures that coexist within the EU, says Clara García (18 years old, Cáceres). “If we want to be together and one, at the very least we should understand the cultures of other countries,” he argues.

However, optimism is not the flag that everyone is flying these days. María Bernardo, 50, originally from Castro Marim (Portugal), who believes that these stereotypes are often created by the media to confront each other, regrets that these imbalances persist while her country regresses.

“It’s sad for me that after all these years things stay this way. Many people are happy because since Portugal joined the EU they have been living a little better, but they are living a little better materially. Because other things I don’t know if they are better than 20 years ago ”, he says.

And he is forceful in what can happen if this is not resolved: “Either the EU improves or it will disappear,” he says.