BRUSSELS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- When the European Union (EU) is preparing for the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, from which the whole integration process stemmed, the future of Europe aroused hot discussions inside the bloc.
Giles Merritt, founder and chairman of Friends of Europe think tank and author of "Slippery Slope Europe's Troubled Future," said EU "still has much worth" but argued that poor productivity is Europe's greatest weakness, and it is going to be exacerbated by aging and youth unemployment.
He said, "European productivity growth used to outstrip America's. But now Europe's rate is half that of the United States. It's time for the Commission to identify the backsliders, the greatest threat to prosperity."
According to Emma Marcegaglia, president of BusinessEurope, the Brussels-based representative body for Europe's business community, industrial policy, trade and investment are "key" for growth, competitiveness and job creation in Europe and to take the European project forward.
Ulrike Trebesius, a centre right German European parliamentarian, believed that past hopes in Europe and the eurozone have fallen victim to "centralism and delusions of grandeur", adding, "The EU should concentrate on fewer policy areas and become more efficient, for example, in fighting terrorism and protecting its borders.
"Times have changed, we need more flexibility and to adapt our institutional set-up", she said.
Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, now a member of European Parliament (MEP) who will play a key role in the Brexit negotiations, said the bloc currently lacks real capabilities to address many of today's challenges.
Therefore, he stressed the need to start a further inter-institutional reflection on the future of Europe.
Earlier this month, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled a White Paper on the future of Europe, in which he outlined five possible scenarios for the remaining 27 member states of the bloc (considering Brexit as done) by 2025.
The leading consultancy, Grayling, has drafted a policy paper on the White Paper which will feed into member state discussions on this issue during the EU summit in Rome on March 25.
It said Juncker is aware that a multi-speed Europe (one of his scenarios) can be supported by both founding members, such as Germany, France and Italy, as well as by non-Eurozone countries such as Poland, a country with no plans to join the euro in the foreseeable future.
It went on, "Indeed, it could be argued that the Euro, the Schengen Area, and the process of "enhanced cooperation" signify that a multispeed Europe already exists. Deeper pan-EU cooperation, however, could be expected in foreign affairs, defense, growth, investment, and migration policies."
For Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, the EU needs to be changed but not weakened.
"The 60th anniversary celebrations of the Treaty of Rome should not be just a formal ceremony but an opportunity to consolidate our abilities to deliver concrete results to European citizens," he said.
But, with populist parties on the rise, eurosceptics like Gerard Batten, an MEP with the UK Independence Party, see this moment as their big chance to seize the initiative.
He said that the commission's White Paper recognizes the problems facing the EU, "but fails to understand that many of these were created by the EU in the first place".
On March 25, the "White Paper on the Future of Europe: Avenues for Unity for the EU at 27", will be officially handed over to the governments of 27 EU members in Rome, and they will be asked to provide input "in a structured way" by December.
The EU summit in December will be the culmination of the process to forge the "new vision" for Europe for the next decade.
