Closer integration and greater solidarity among EU member states is required if its citizens are to prosper and Europe is to have an effective influence on the world stage, says Etienne Davignon, President of Friends of Europe, in an interview with EurActiv.

Viscount Etienne Davignon is President of Friends of Europe, former Vice-President of the European Commission and was a close aide to former Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul Henri-Spaak.

Q: The occasion of your 75th and the EU's 50th birthdays provides a good opportunity for reflection. What are the achievements of the institutions that you were dreaming about at 25, and how would you assess you personal contribution to those achievements?

A: At the age of 25, bringing Europe together was a passionate dream of mine. Now, the European Union is hard reality and has a positive effect on the lives of close to 500 million citizens. Along with many others, I have been able to contribute as a diplomat, commissioner and businessman to turning that dream into a reality.

Q: Following the turmoil in the EU in the wake of the failed referendums on the draft Constitution, political leaders have been trying to 'sort out the mess'. In your view, how can NGOs and civil society organisations such as 'Friends of Europe', and EU and national media, contribute to this process?

A: Of course, the unification of Europe is the responsibility of political leaders, but its success or failure affects society as a whole. Political leaders need to be constantly urged onwards, and public opinion must be made aware of the consequences of delay. This is the task of 'Friends of Europe', EurActiv and the other media and NGOs concerned.

Q: What would you say is your single most important recommendation to the next presidents of the European Commission and Parliament, due to be chosen in 2009?

A: The next presidents of the Commission and the Parliament remain entrusted with defining and shaping the future of the Union, because they are mandated to suggest the future course that Europe should take. This is their priority and requires them to have a strong ambition to develop the Europe of the future.

Q: What is your vision for the Europe of 2020?

A: The Europe of 2020 should pursue closer integration and greater solidarity between its member states in order to create the political, economic, social and cultural environments that our citizens need, while also ensuring that Europe's contribution to world governance is influential and effective.

EurActiv.com - Tue 02 Oct. 2007

Nicknamed Stevy Wonder by The Economist when in the latter 1970s, he had the tough job of restructuring Europe¹s Œrustbowl¹ steel, shipbuilding and textile industries, Etienne Davignon, known almost universally as Stevy, had been a Mr-Fix-It at European level and in Belgium for half a century. He was born in Budapest on October 4, 1932, where his father was en poste as a diplomat. Following in his father¹s footsteps, he joined the Belgian foreign ministry and soon became head of cabinet to one of Europe¹s founding fathers, Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak. In 1970, he made his name with the Davignon Report, which set out the EEC¹s earliest foreign policy thinking.

In 1985, after eight years as the Belgian member of the European Commission, he joined Société Générale de Belgique, the giant holding company that had been at the heart of the country¹s industrial power. He soon became its chairman, when Suez took over the group, and is today vice chairman of its latest incarnation, Suez-Tractebel.

Davignon graces the boardrooms of many major corporations, with the roll-call of past and present companies including Accord, Fortis, Umicore, BASF, Biac, Petrofina, Solvay, Compagnie Maritime Belge, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, Recticel and Sibeka. When Sabena collapsed in late 2001, his was the guiding hand behind the creation of its successor, SN Brussels Airlines, and he remains its chairman.
But it is away from the boardrooms of corporate Europe that Stevy Davignon has made some of his greatest contributions. As president of the Palais des Beaux-Arts, he did much to reinvigorate Brussels¹ cultural scene, while his heart is known to lie most of all with his beloved football club, RSC Anderlecht. He rarely misses a match, and is a familiar figure in the directors¹ box, in his tweed cap, clutching a cone of frites. His influence in the think-tank world has been extraordinary too. A moving force behind the celebrated Bilderberg conferences that bring together European and American heavy-hitters, he has also played a key role in the development of the Brussels-based think-tank Friends of Europe.

Giles Merritt - Friends of Europe