Former Prime Mnister Alfred Sant told the European Parlament that a new, huge political effort of consolidation must first be undertaken by the EU to correct the existing regional and national imbalances within the EU. Only then would the EU be able to regain the momentum of its first thirty years. Dr Sant made this statement  during a plenary debate on the Rome Declaration to be adopted this week by EU leaders in Rome.

Dr Sant said that in the first thirty years of its existence, the EU achieved most of its aims, especially that of securing peace in Western Europe through economic integration. In its second thirty years, the EU went for enlargement and deepening. This has led to stagnation and semi-paralysis. The new structures of unity and control that were created have proven unable to cope with political, economic and demographic turmoil.

"The Rome declaration should recognize this reality, not simply recast the rhetoric that made sense in the first half of the Union's existence to Europe's present and future challenges. Internally, the European project has become a transfer union that follows the pulls and pushes of neoliberal guidelines.

Now, millions of people in the EU feel completely disconnected with - or hostile to - the European project. Their expectations of ever increasing security and wellbeing were undermined by austerity and by policies that fail to respond to their life priorities. Meanwhile, economic and social divergences within the Union have grown." remarked the Maltese MEP.

The expected Rome Declaration, will conclude a period of reflection which started in Bratislava, in September 2016, right after the UK referendum. At this Bratislava European