BERLIN –
Originally, the European Union was what psychologists call a “fantastic
object,” a desirable goal that inspires people’s imaginations. I saw it as the
embodiment of an open society – an association of nation-states that gave up
part of their sovereignty for the common good and formed a union dominated by
no one nation or nationality.
The euro crisis, however, has turned the EU into something radically
different. Member countries are now divided into two classes – creditors and
debtors – with the creditors in charge. As the largest and most creditworthy
country, Germany
occupies a dominant position. Debtor countries pay substantial risk premiums to
finance their debt, which is reflected in their high economy-wide borrowing
costs. This has pushed them into a deflationary tailspin and put them at a
substantial – and potentially permanent – competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis
creditor countries.This outcome does not reflect a deliberate plan, but rather a series of policy mistakes. Germany did not seek to occupy a dominant position in Europe, and it is reluctant to accept the obligations and liabilities that such a position entails. Call this the tragedy of the European Union.
Recent developments seem to offer grounds for optimism. The authorities are taking steps to correct their mistakes, especially with the decision to form a banking union and the outright monetary transactions program, which would allow unlimited intervention by the European Central Bank in the sovereign-bond market. Financial markets have been reassured that the euro is here to stay. That could be a turning point, provided it is adequately reinforced with additional steps toward greater integration.
Unfortunately, the EU’s unfolding tragedy characteristically feeds on such glimmers of hope. Germany remains willing to do the minimum – and nothing more – to hold the euro together, and the EU’s recent steps have merely reinforced German resistance to further concessions. This will perpetuate the division between creditor and debtor countries.
A widening gap in economic performance and political dominance is such a dismal prospect for the EU that it must not be allowed to become permanent. There must be a way to prevent it – after all, history is not predetermined. The EU, originally conceived as an instrument of solidarity, is today held together by grim necessity. That is not conducive to a harmonious partnership. The only way to reverse the trend is to recapture the spirit of solidarity that animated the European project from the start.
To that end, I recently established an Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE). In doing so, I recognized that the best place to start would be where current policies have created the greatest human suffering: Greece. The people who are suffering are not those who abused the system and caused the crisis. The fate of the many migrant and asylum seekers caught in Greece is particularly heart-rending. But their plight cannot be separated from that of the Greeks themselves. An initiative confined to migrants would merely reinforce the growing xenophobia and extremism in Greece.
I could not figure out how to approach this seemingly intractable problem until I recently visited Stockholm to commemorate the centenary of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth. This reawakened my memories of World War II – the calamity that eventually gave birth to the EU.
Wallenberg was a hero who saved the lives of many Jews in my home city of Budapest by establishing Swedish safe houses. During the German occupation, my father was also a heroic figure. He helped to save his family and friends and many others. He taught me to confront harsh reality rather than to submit to it passively. That is what gave me the idea.
We could set up solidarity houses in Greece, which would serve as community centers for the local population and also provide food and shelter to migrants. There are already many soup kitchens and civil-society efforts to help the migrants, but these initiatives cannot cope with the scale of the problem. What I have in mind is to reinforce these efforts.
The EU’s asylum policy has broken down. Refugees must register in the member country where they enter, but the Greek government cannot process the cases. Some 60,000 refugees who sought to register have been put into detention facilities where conditions are inhumane. Migrants who do not register and live on the street are attacked by the hooligans of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party.
Sweden has made migration and asylum policy a high priority, while Norway is concerned about the fate of migrants in Greece. So both countries would be prime candidates to support solidarity houses. And other better-off countries could join them. OSIFE is ready to provide support for this initiative, and I hope other foundations will be eager to do the same. But this has to be a European project – one that eventually must find its way into the European budget.
Currently, Golden Dawn is making political headway by providing social services to Greeks while attacking migrants. The initiative that I propose would offer a positive alternative, based on solidarity – the solidarity of Europeans with Greeks and of Greeks with migrants. It would provide a practical demonstration of the spirit that ought to infuse the entire EU.
As soon as possible, I will dispatch an OSIFE needs-assessment team to Greece to contact the authorities – and the people and organizations already helping the needy – to work out a plan for which we can generate public support. My goal is to revive the idea of the EU as an instrument of solidarity, not only of discipline.
George Soros is Chairman of Soros Fund Management and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations. A pioneer of the hedge-fund industry, he is the author of many books, including The Alchemy of Finance and The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means.
George Soros: 團結與紀律並重的歐洲
柏林——歐盟原本被心理學家稱為“如夢似幻的目標”，如此這般的理想目標可以徹底激發人們的想象。我認為它是開放社會的化身——民族國家為了共同的利益而放棄部分主權，結成任何國家或民族都無法操縱的聯盟。
但歐元危機後的歐盟已變得截然不同。會員國現在割裂為債權國和債務國兩大陣營——這兩大陣營由債權國佔據主導。德國作為最大也最有信譽的債權國佔統治地位。債務國為籌資還債被迫支付高額的風險溢價，導致其經濟借貸成本一直居高。他們也因此陷入通貨緊縮的失控狀態，這使他們在與債權國的競爭中處於明顯——或許會是永久的劣勢之中。
導致如此結果的並不是深思熟慮的計劃，而是一系列的政策失誤。德國並不想在歐洲佔據主導地位，也不願承擔由上述地位所帶來的責任和義務。我們可以將這稱為歐盟的悲劇。
近來的事態發展似乎讓我們有理由感到樂觀。當局正採取措施糾正自己的錯誤，特別是決策成立銀行工會和完全貨幣交易計劃，以便歐洲央行借此不受限制地干預主權債務市場。金融市場得到了歐元將繼續存在的保証。只要進一步充分落實一體化政策，這有可能成為歐元危機的重要轉折。
遺憾的是，歐盟正在逼近的悲劇總是會扼殺希望的曙光。德國仍然只願為保住歐元付出最低限度的努力（僅此而已、別無其他），而歐盟近來的舉措只是強化了德國對更多讓步要求的抵觸立場。這會導致債權國和債務國的鴻溝成為永久現象。
對歐盟而言，經濟表現和政治地位差距拉大的前景是如此可怕，絕不能任其發展為一種永久現象。一定能找到阻止噩夢成真的方法——歸根結底，歷史不是預先注定的。原本被設想為團結利器的歐盟，今天依然存在僅僅是因為別無選擇。這種情況不利於和諧伙伴關系的建立。力挽狂瀾的唯一方法是重新找回歐洲計劃伊始就令其充滿活力的團結精神。
為此我最新成立了歐洲開放社會計劃（OSIFE）。在此過程中，最好從現行政策造成痛苦最深的地方開始，這個地方就是希臘。受苦受難的並非那些濫用制度、引發危機的罪魁禍首。陷入困境的眾多移民和尋求庇護者的命運尤其令人感傷。但我們沒辦法將他們的困境與希臘人分開。僅限於移民的援助計劃只會給希臘正在滋長的排外和極端主義火上澆油。
直到最近訪問斯德哥爾摩紀念羅爾·瓦倫堡誕辰一百周年之前，我都找不到這個看似棘手問題的解決方法。這喚起了我對二戰災難的記憶，正是這場災難導致了歐盟的誕生。
瓦倫堡是位英雄人物，他在我的家鄉布達佩斯建立瑞典安全屋，挽救了眾多猶太人的生命。德國佔領期間我父親也是位英雄人物。他挽救了家人、朋友和其他很多人。他教會我要面對殘酷的現實，而不是被動地屈服於它。我因此有了這樣的想法。
我們可以在希臘設立團結屋，在充當當地居民社區中心的同時為移民提供食物和住所。已經有不少舍粥場和民間力量在幫助移民，但這些計劃應對如此規模的問題還遠遠不夠。我要做的是強化這些力量。
歐盟的庇護政策已經陷入癱瘓。難民必須在入境成員國進行注冊，但希臘政府卻無力應對他們的情況。大約60,000名尋求注冊的難民被投入條件很不人道的拘留中心，沒有注冊的移民則露宿街頭，成為新法西斯金色黎明黨流氓的襲擊對象。
瑞典優先重視移民和庇護政策，而挪威則非常關注希臘的移民狀況。因此上述兩國可以作為援建團結屋的主要候選力量。其他富裕國家也可以助他們一臂之力。歐洲開放社會計劃願意支持這項行動，我希望其他基金會也熱忱參與這項行動。但這必需成為一項歐洲計劃——也就是說這項計劃必需納入歐洲預算之中。
目前，金色黎明借著為希臘人提供社會服務和襲擊移民來為自己撈取政治資本。我所提議的計劃可以提供一項建立在團結（歐洲與希臘人的團結和希臘人與移民的團結）基礎上的積極選擇。它可以讓人們在現實中看到本應滲透整個歐盟的團結精神。
我會盡快派遣一支歐洲開放社會計劃需求評估團隊到希臘與當局（及已經在幫助需要者的民眾和組織）聯系，以便制定一項能爭取公眾支持的計劃。我的目標是重新喚起歐盟的團結作用，而不讓歐盟僅僅淪為執行機構。