« Antidemocratic and xenophobic forces of Europe have always been attracted by the European unity dream, the mystic of the imperial Rome»
(FB - 1998)
" Being a citizen is a voluntary act "
(FB - 2009)
"Thinking about the future only makes sense if it is aimed at improving one’s thinking about the present and about the trends at work"
(FB - 1998)
"The European project is not a dream, but a hope. It is rooted in rationality, which is not the case with dreams. We Europeans have seen our dreams end in nightmares too often not to be suspicious."
(FB - 2005)
"The strength of a network is judged at the information level of the weakest link, or more precisely the link furthest from the centre of the network."
(FB - 2004)
"Europe's destiny is escaping the two "Greats" and it will come knocking on the door of the Europeans."
(FB - 1989)
"The history of Europe is a bit like a multifaceted diamond. Everyone sees the same diamond... but no one sees exactly the same facets."
(FB - E-storia project, 2004)
"Let us dare the future as the founding fathers of Europe did"
(FB - "From EU to Euroland", 2001)
"The European citizenship can not be decreed. The European citizen can only be born..."
(FB - 1992)
"Every state is a minority in the EU. In any case, let’s not forget that if all our states went into building the EU it is because they all felt too small to face alone both their future and the rest of the world."
(FB - 2003)
"From a single (EU) Currency to a single (EU) Citizenship. The euro is only an instrument."
(FB - 1997)
"An empire is always providing platforms where conflicts and wars prolife­rate... an empire needs enemies, whilst a Community requires partners."
(FB - 1992)
"Europe’s history has taught us that dreams and nightmares are the two faces of the same coin"
(FB - “Europe is Peace” 2006)
"Everybody wants to have a successful enlargement whereas it is a successful enlarged EU which is important."
(FB - 2002)
"It is clear that the existing national political parties can not serve two masters: national and European."
(FB - IDE, 1989)
"It takes teamwork to make Europe move forward."
(FB - 2005)
"There is nothing like one European. The European is a team of Europeans... the only way we can imagine a European, it is a team of people from different countries, not a single man or woman."
(FB - Enschede (NL) 2012)
"On the horizon with a heaven of freedom and a land of responsibility, this is perhaps the soul of Europe."
(FB - 1992)
"The future challenge for the European project is not about Europe anymore, it is about the Europeans."
(FB - 2005)
"The more Brussels speaks English, the less Brussels understands the Europeans"
(FB - 2004)
"Occupy the Future of Europe!"
("What do YOU want as a future for AEGEE?" Franck Biancheri at the 2012 Agora in Enschede)
"To combine new technologies and democratic principles to succeed in the entry of European integration in the 21st century or e-democracy at the service of Euro-democracy"
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"In the years 00 of the 21st century, democratization can only take place in the perspective of the democratic election of a European executive that remains to be invented."
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"We must build the European Community, otherwise Europe will soon be culturally Americanised, politically Finlandised and technologically Japanised"
EGEE I, 1984

When the South burns, the holidays of the northern Europeans go up in smoke …Quand le Sud brûle, les vacances des Européens du nord partent en fumée …

In mid-June, Portugal had more than 60 deaths in forest fires (Portugal, Tote bei Waldbrand – Feuerwehr ueberfordert, Spiegel 19/06/2017), leading to the decision to cut eucalyptus tress and to limit their plantations (Portugal to limit eucalyptus groves to reduce wildfires, ABC News, 19/07/2017).

For several weeks, in Italy, France, Corsica, Croatia, Greece, Spain and Portugal, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated (Rome, plages de Sicile, Le Figaro, 17/07/2017 – France, Var: plus de 10.000 personnes évacuées, L’Express, 25/07/2017 – Italie, Portugal, Croatie : le sud de l’Europe à l’épreuve des incendies, Le Parisien, 18/07/2017).

It is not forests that burn, but Southern Europe is consuming itself, our European nature, our European natural sites, our European culture, our common European heritage!

Northern Europeans worry about their nationals (des Belges craignent pour leurs proches en vacances dans les régions sinistrées, RTL Info, 25/07/2017), their holidays (Waldbrände in Frankreich, Italien, Griechenland, Kroatien – Hilfe, unser Urlaub brennt!, Bild, 18/07/2017).

But besides sending selfies and videos of these dramatic spectacles what does Northern Europe do?

These fires ruin not only holidays, but also lives, properties, heritage of the people who live in these areas, who work there, leaving behind totally disaster-stricken sites, which will only have to be rebuilt on their fields of ruins, to which the Nordic tourists will no longer go. Because when the South burns, it is also the heritage of the northern Europeans that is consumed, and not just their holidays that go in smoke …

In 2005 Franck Biancheri argued for the establishment of a vast trans-European program combining:

  • the EU’s financial resources, intergovernmental cooperation in terms of fighting fire (operational means: satellite surveillance, aircraft, helicopters, human resources); 
  • and an extensive prevention campaign (education from the South to the North of the EU as half of the summer population of the Mediterranean area comes from the North and also from the South)

A common policy that would greatly increase the effectiveness of fire fighting in the South and enhance the sense of a common natural heritage in the North.

The European institutions established in 1998 the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and in 2012 the Copernicus EMS, a mapping and early warning component, it still lacks of means and tools (why not a European fire-brigade?) to provide the necessary help and those for the prevention by education (“how to behave in the forests of southern Europe”).

We invite you to read it again here: Inaction commune: il y a vraiment le feu à l’Europe (2005 – in French)

Marianne Ranke-Cormier

Mi-juin, et oui, déjà à cette période, le Portugal comptait plus de 60 morts dans les incendies de forêts (Portugal, Tote bei Waldbrand – Feuerwehr ueberfordert, Spiegel 19/06/2017), le poussant à décider de couper les forêts d’eucalyptus et de limiter leurs plantations (Portugal to limit eucalyptus groves to reduce wildfires, ABC News, 19/07/2017).

Depuis plusieurs semaines, en Italie, en France, en Corse, en Croatie, en Grèce, en Espagne, au Portugal, plusieurs dizaines de milliers de personnes ont été et sont évacuées (Rome, plages de Sicile, Le Figaro, 17/07/2017 – France, Var: plus de 10.000 personnes évacuées, L’Express, 25/07/2017 – Italie, Portugal, Croatie : le sud de l’Europe à l’épreuve des incendies, Le Parisien, 18/07/2017).

Ce ne sont pas les forêts qui brûlent, mais l’Europe du sud qui se consume, notre nature européenne, nos sites naturels européens, notre culture européenne, notre patrimoine européen commun !

Les Européens du Nord s’inquiètent pour leurs ressortissants (Incendies en France: des Belges craignent pour leurs proches en vacances dans les régions sinistrées, RTL Info, 25/07/2017), leurs vacances (Waldbrände in Frankreich, Italien, Griechenland, Kroatien – Hilfe, unser Urlaub brennt!, Bild, 18/07/2017).

Mais à part envoyer des selfies et des vidéos de ces spectacles dramatiques que fait l’Europe du Nord?

Ces incendies ruinent non seulement des vacances, mais aussi des vies, des biens, des patrimoines des gens qui vivent dans ces régions, qui y travaillent, et laissent derrière eux des sites entièrement sinistrés, qui n’auront plus qu’à se reconstruire sur leurs champs de ruines, vers lesquels les touristes nordiques n’iront plus. Parce que quand le Sud brûle, c’est aussi le patrimoine des Européens du nord qui se consume, et pas seulement leurs vacances qui partent en fumée…

En 2005 Franck Biancheri plaidait pour la mise en place d’un vaste programme trans-européen associant:

  • les moyens financiers de l’’UE, la coopération intergouvernementale en terme de lutte contre le feu (moyens opérationnels : surveillance satellite, avions, hélicoptères, ressources humaines)
  • et une vaste campagne de prévention (éducation du Sud au Nord de l’’UE car la moitié de la population estivale de la zone méditerranéenne vient du Nord ; et prévention de terrain aussi au Sud)

Une politique communautaire qui permettrait d’accroître considérablement l’’efficacité de la lutte contre l’’incendie dans le Sud, et de renforcer le sentiment d’un patrimoine naturel commun au Nord.

Les institutions européennes ont mis en place en 1998 le système européen d’information sur les incendies de forêt (EFFIS) et le système d’exploitation Copernicus EMS en 2012, une composante de cartographies et d’alerte préventive et rapide; il manque encore de moyens et d’outils (pourquoi pas une brigade de pompiers européenne?) pour fournir l’aide nécessaire et pour la prévention par l’éducation (“comment se comporter dans les forêts du Sud européen”)

Nous vous invitons à le relire ici: Inaction commune: il y a vraiment le feu à l’Europe (2005)

Marianne Ranke-Cormier (FBN)

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