Christine Ockrent

Thank you for being so many in this splendid place and for listening so attentively to the Minister of Economy, and the Executive Chairman and founder of Ifri. Thierry de Montbrial has encouraged us to undertake psychoanalysis as it were, but it seems to me that, after the rather optimistic and dynamic picture painted by Bruno Le Maire, and the rather dark picture painted by Thierry de Montbrial, we can congratulate Ifri once again for having chosen to celebrate its fortieth anniversary in the aftermath of a summit that brought China and the European Union together in Brussels. Today, a summit of heads of state and government is also opening, which has to decide, or not, on a new timetable for the endless chaos of Brexit. The coincidence of the two events leads us to think about what Europe is today, Euro-power. We are going to talk about Europower, because it is a major economic and commercial entity; but we could also talk about a weakened Europe, weakened from within by its doubts, its identity problem, its inward-looking attitudes, as well as by destabilization attempts by neighbors who are not always benevolent and also about this often cowardly Europe that we all regret, which seems indecisive, so unsure of its ability to make its mark on history.

I would like to start by asking Franziska to give us her reaction to the speeches of this morning, and how, as a Bundestag member and a young politician of the future, she sees this Europe.

What is the purpose of Europe?

Franziska Brantner

I share Thierry de Montbrial's and the Minister's assessments on the choice the Europeans have to make today. Do we want to remain at the center of a pingpong process between the Americans and the Chinese, or do we want to define our own future? The question applies to all areas, and I am thinking specifically about the topic of digitalization: we have hardly talked about it, but it is very important. Do we accept the idea of US or Chinese digitalization, of private or state monopoly, with the risk of total censorship, or of a private monopoly that defines what we have the right to do or not? For example, at the moment, there is a big debate in Germany about the issue of 5G: do we want to retain European ability to control the infrastructure of the economy of the future, or do we decide to hand everything over to the Chinese? […]

Franziska Brantner is a Bundestag member.

Jean-Louis Bourlanges is a member of the National Assembly and Vice-Chair of the European Affairs Committee.

Bernadino Leon, a former EU Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean, is Director General of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy.

Igor Yurgens is Chair of the Institute of Contemporary Development (Russian Federation).

Christine Ockrent is a journalist and writer.