The purpose of this site is to share ideas. To people and from people about the future for Europe.
Do you have a good idea ? Send an email to marcel.groot@thefutureforeurope.eu

original content: 2019
last update: 10jan2021

  1. Common European language: The English language.  
  2. MEGA  
  3. Common systems and way of operating.
  4. European television, radio and internet channels.
  5. Transparency in the European Parliament.
  6. Environment
  7. Diversity.

1. Common European language: The English language.  

Now the Brits left the EU, it is time for a common language as this is the key to any further integration and unity across the European Union. As English is the common international language in many fields, and it's base is in Europe, it shall be the English language.   Together we are strong and a player of importance in the modern world; one common language will help making us stronger in many fields in the future.

The language of each country shall remain as this is what  makes Europe unique and divers, however, the English language shall exist near the own language.  
As Brussel must lead by example: one language shall be spoken in Brussels in the European Parliament.

In every EU country, it shall be mandatory that children from the age of 10 till 16 years shall be taught with the English language. The prime purpose of this is to create a common European language.  In 10 years time we all speak a common language.

Obvious benefits are that it will bring a larger understanding of each other, a larger interchangeability of persons, students, documents and goods, professionally or simply when people go on a holiday.  It will ease exchange of knowledge. But maybe most important: it is the pre-requisite for following steps towards further integration, common systems and institutions.  

One language for European laws, one language for European legislation, European norms and European news channels. One language for a possible future European army and border patrol. One language for European institutions. One language for user manuals, maintenance manuals. Etc. Etc.


SCRATCHPAD


2. MEGA.

The Americans have MAGA. Make America Great Again.   We have something better which will be understood instantly by everyone as something important:  MEGA.

"Any customer can choose what he wants, can have a car painted any colour what he wants,  so long as it is a Ford and the color is black." By Henry Ford.
 These were the times of the first industrial revolution characterized by mass production.    The producer produces what and how is good for him.  Not necessarily what Customers want.

What does this have to do with todays reality?  

In the 21st Century we live in a complete different world.  The world of information exchange.  Still there is mass production, however many things can now be tailored to the Customer needs.

Even the European Union, many companies and many organisations still work according this "One size fits all" principle. "We know what is good for you". People do not want a plastic between their meat. People do not want their gherkins wrapped in plastic. People do not want sustainaible housing which cannot be heated sufficiently  in wintertime.  People do not want importing wood for biomass electricity.   People do not want public transport interruptions because of long lines.   People do not want buraucracy before being helped at the doctor or hospital.  People don't want meat imported from another continent if it also can be produced locally.

A much more humble, a ready to hand and customer focussed  approach is more sustainable and more succesfull in this age of information technology.  The EU, followed by the Countries Governments, followed by local governments need to lead by example.  

What do European people find important?
Well,  that is not too difficult to answer if we think about the basic needs of a human being:

  1. Food and Water
  2. Safety
  3. Prosperity, education, research, infrastructure, economy, democracy, free movement of people and goods..
  4. Health
  5. Environment
Strategies:
Accept that Europe has always been, and will be, diverse.  Respect that each country have their own cultures, laws and language.
Independency from outside EU countries for all 5 basic needs mentioned above.
Always have a plan B or even a plan C or even a plan D.
Limit centralization to only necessary common systems where all EU people benefit.
Embrase smaller rather than larger where we can.
Make use of local strenghts.
Make use of local  knowledge and innovation.
Work together with inside EU countries for goods which are not able to be produced by an EU Country.
Work together with outside EU countries where we can without violating above strategies.
Stimulate / subsidize a minimum of local production in a country for all basic needs.
Stimulate / subzidize cross-EU-country trade over importing the same goods from outside the EU.
Invest in ever better infra-structure.
Accept Country laws above EU laws, after all the EU is not a country.   Stimulate embrasing EU laws rather than pushing into a country.

2.1 Food and water

Produce food in many places inside the EU rather than centralized or even import from outside the EU.

Why importing potatoes from Africa while they can be produced in Europe too?
Why importing oranges and lemons from South America while they can be produced in Europe too?
Why importing garlic from China while it is produced in Europe too?
Why importing strawberries from Africa, while it is produced in Europe too?
Why importing kidney beans from Africa, while it is produced in Europe too?
Why importing wheat for bread while it is or can be produced in Europe too?

People prefer locally produced goods over food produced somewhere else in the EU.
People prefer food produced in the EU over food produced outside the EU.

Local production makes us independent and can act as a plan B in case of food shortage.

Some signs to the good are already visible:
- supermarkets selling more and more local content.  From local produced meat, local baked goods to local produced berries, vegetables and potatoes.
- more and more farmers sell their products at the street near their farms.

2.2 Safety

Housing

Environmental (flooding, storms)

Outside EU influences (borders, millitary).

2.3 Prosperity


Electricity:
We must have plan B or even have plan C.

Multiple sources, also carbon based.

Environmental clean if it can, carbon based if it has to.

1st local country generation, 2nd inter EU country generation,  3rd Outside EU import.

We must be able to choose something at any moment...

Money:  
We must have plan B or even have plan C.

Next to electronic money transfers with bank-cards and pin-coding,  always have a back-up system with cash money.

Internet:
We must have plan B or even have plan C.

Our dependency on internet and smart phones in this age of information exchange is large, however, also very vulnerable.
In times of emergency we must at all times be able to carry on with our lives, also without internet, also without smart phones. Like we used to live before the 90's.

2.4 Health

The latest crisis has shown that Europe is vulnerable for not being able to produce certain goods required for our health safety. Often the production of such goods has been outsourced in low cost countries outside the EU.

Medicins and medical goods.
We must have plan B or even have plan C.

Produce a minimum at each EU country if you can.
Be able to turn up production inside the EU in case of a mondial crisis.



2.5 Environment

Not only governments from all EU countries need to lead by example, also local governments in a country.

As a start, all newly built buildings for public, governmental use or semi-govenmental use,  shall be built energy-neutral.
Examples are buildings for educational purposes like schools, university buildings etc, research buildings, any (local) governmental building, any indoor sporting facility, theatres museums,  any social community building, buildings for children care,

Secondly, newly built small businesses shall be built based on energy savings like newly built offices, datacenters, industrial buildings.

One environmental policy and measures for all countries part of the EU.  Not that one country wants to go away from natural gas and another country wnats to emrace natural gas.

Discourage expanding businesses requiring fossil fuels for energy or transporation or environmental unfriendly designs.. Growht shall be based on diverting into sustainable energy generation or the use of sustainable fuel for tranportation.   Making use of environmental friendly designs, e.g. make use of closed loop cooling water systems for datacenters instead of a once through system,  deployment of solar cells on company roofs.

In stead of creating new wild nature areas, divert to creating new areas for planting trees for a natural CO2 capture.  Plant vegetation for biomass in order to produce cyclic biofuels.

Every country of the EU, every province, every city shall plant a yearly minimum amount of trees.


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The EU shall be self-providing again for the following goods:
For infrastructure, the EU shall be involved in and invest in modern ways of transportation like the Hyperloop, alternative and cleaner ways for propulsion of freight boats, ...  Contrary to accepting slowing down in certain areas for High Speed Railroad Tracks, invest in real high speed train tracks, South to North as well as East to West. Invest in research for cleaner energy.

EU countries shall invest in EU made military goods like fighter planes, marine boats, submarines, weaponry, satelites and systems rather than being dependent on countries outside the EU.  Why buy fighter planes from the US while also in the EU we can manufacture and buy these?

EU countries shall invest more in EU made communication systems rather than procuring them from outside the EU.
 
Benefit of the large numbers
Representing a huge internal market,  the EU shall be making much more use of this and procure certain goods in mass and divide them over the member countries.  This will be a direct benefit for all the EU countries and hence for the people.


END OF SCRATCHPAD

3. Common systems and common way of operating.

While we already have a lot's of common systems, like a common European currency, EU-norms and standards,  and a common European approach in mobile communication, we need more.  More with direct benefits for the people living in the EU.

Public transport European chip card.
A direct benefit for people living in the EU will be a European chipcard which can be used in each country to travel by train, metro, or bus.  Uniform check-in/check-out systems accepting the European chipcard next to the local cards.  Charging the card shall be via uniform charging machines, also in use for local cards.

Buying Cars.
It shall be possible to buy cars in any EU country and drive them unlimited in another EU country without a re-assessment, import duties or taxes at the country of living.    

European license plates
All cars bought in the EU, shall have the same license plates:  A European license plate.

Property
Buying and owning property shall be standardized in each EU country.

Common border patrol
To protect our European borders we need to start to act like one entity. It shall not be that every country on the outside of the European borders is left alone.  All EU countries shall contribute in execution of border protection under a common European strategy.

Common approach for refugees and legislation on immigration.
Gains and Pains shall be evenly distributed across the EU countries.   It cannot be that certain countries do not take their share when it comes to the housing of refugees.
At the same time immigration is shall be controlled and be subject to common strict legislation for the whole of the EU.    Illegal immigration shall not be tolerated and shall be handled in a common manner across the entire EU.

Common European army
When the common language pre-requisite is met, the way is paved for a common European Army.

Common European Police
When the common language pre-requisite is met, the way is paved for a common European Police.

European tax on labour and income
Why is there not a portion of European tax on a payslip?  The European people as well as companies in the EU also benefit from the European Union.
In order to standardize across the Union, slowly but gently taxes over the various countries could be more unitized. 

4. European television, radio and internet channels.

People in the European parliament shall be more exposed to the European people via news channels, internet and news media.  Brussels is too often in the shadows and need to appear much more in the media.  Why not  having a European broadcast for television, radio and internet channels?  Naturally, in the English language.

5. Transparency and accountability in the European parliament.

We need more transparency of costs, no more spilling of money and accountability by people in the European government.
No more relocations to Strasbourg, the European capital is Brussel.

All people employed by the EU-parliament need complete transparency in their expense reports.   Some simple rules which can all be written on  a few pages must be publicly available.  Personal expenses shall be approved by an independent entity of the EU.

Projects subsidized by the EU must have a clear goal and not end up in the middle of nowhere.  Project teams to guide these projects can be established from the members of the European parliament.  The European parliament need to be checked by a second counter-institution for forcing off accountability,  efficiency and to avoid shear spilling of money. Members of the EU parliament must be hold accountable for all the projects in the various European countries.  Full transparency is required to all the European people. Consequences for people shall be there when a project turns out to be a waste of money.

Much more exposure by the European parliament to the people is required.  Nowadays there is hardly any news about European politics.

A clear definition of long term goals for Europe is required. A separate entity shall define goals for what we want to achieve over 5 years, 10 years and 20 years. The European parliament shall be hold accountable for the execution of these long term goals.

Members, chairmen and ministers of the European parliament shall be chosen more directly by the European people and not be made dependent on individual country parties.  It shall be possible for inhabitants of one country to vote for people from another country.  The right wo(man) on the right place is the most important, political back ground or country of birth shall not matter.  

6. Environment.

Not only governments from all EU countries need to lead by example, also local governments in a country.

As a start, all newly built buildings for public or governmental use shall be built energy-neutral.
Examples are buildings for educational purposes like schools, university buildings etc, research buildings, any (local) governmental building, any indoor sporting facility, theatres museums,  any social community building, buildings for children care etc.

One environmental policy and measures for all countries part of the EU.

Discourage expanding businesses requiring fossil fuels for energy or transporation. Growht shall be based on diverting into sustainable energy generation or the use of sustainable fuel for tranportation.

In stead of creating new wild nature areas, divert to creating new areas for planting trees for a natural CO2 capture.  Plant vegetation for biomass in order to produce cyclic biofuels.

Every country of the EU, every province, every city shall plant a yearly minimum amount of trees.


7. Diversity.

By its nature, Europe consists out of various countries, various languages are spoken and is therefore already diverse in itself.

Throughout history Europe has been a place where people migrated to and from.  In the modern era, this has been connected with a large freedom in speech, with democracy and an independent jurisdiction from parliaments.  

Europe shall be a place where people from various backgrounds and with various religions shall feel comfortable, safe to live and work.