To the European Union: Dear EU, I m writing this public letter to you EU because I think at times people from the outside see issues in a clearer manner. I would like to tell you what I see in the hope that it will help you perhaps. I m not a politician or an expert, but I deal with people since little and somehow, I understand them to a certain extent. I don t think anyone is happy about what is happening in the EU. UK is leaving and there s conflicting feelings among country members. Many countries have expressed some concern about the route EU is heading to, and even though I am not here to give political or economic advice, as I m not an expert in that, I would like to share some thoughts that may help you all in the future to create a great brand and marketing. In this public letter, I will describe some of those points and then will let you know some possible ways to fix them or improve them.
1. I truly think EU is a great idea and dream, but at times a little bit idealistic. Not in the ideology itself, but in the way of making it work. EU has great professionals that can make of it a great institution led with a good intention and open heart. The world is built upon the dreams of great dreamers, however when an institution is representing a set of countries I think it must be one with those same countries. For example, it s nice to make people dream, but you all must always remember people are expecting whoever makes them dream to follow their promises through, so when they don t deliver or do something against what they ve promised people will feel betrayed. 2. I think that when EU promises new ways or laws or reforms or changes, perhaps it would be helpful to first have a plan to follow and to know if those ideas can come true in the way EU envisions. At times we have dreams and we don t think about the obstacles, so when these show up we get lost because we didn t expect them to appear in our way.
3. The EU army is a very delicate subject to all Europeans. Europe has a past of bloody and terrible wars and the people of Europe see it now as a peaceful place to live at. Also, I think it was not wise the way people have introduced it to the public. I ll explain. Mr. Macron could have said We want an army to defend Europe if something happens this is a general statement that offends no one. But when he says we need an army to defend ourselves from USA, Russia and China he was selecting out of 195 world countries, three. This creates a reaction in these three countries. First, none of them has threatened Europe recently, second it means that he thinks they could possibly attack Europe in the future out of the other 192, and third he is letting these three countries know he sees in them a threat. Mr. Donald Trump reacted immediately, as I had thought he would, but what the EU needs to know is that he represents many people in the US who think alike. And it s understandable to know how they feel when they read a statement like that. Many people
have read Mr. Macron s statement and they thought What? We are here peacefully living, saying great things about Europe and they think we are going to attack them? See what I mean? China doesn t usually comment about what people unofficially say. Russia ignored it too, but EU should know Russia already feels as if the western world is always against them, which sometimes is true, and so Russia probably thought of that statement as another passive aggressive remark to offend their country. Fourth, NATO is a big defense institution led by a peace maker. Mr Jens is very diplomatic and wise in his comments. I admire him. He never loses his temper and always thinks before he speaks. He reacted very diplomatically and said EU army is fine as long as they don t interfere with NATO operations and let us move freely anywhere in case we need to Now the truth is, for those listening like me and millions or others, is confusing. What exactly would be NATO s function and EU s army function? What exactly would EU army do? And why does EU want an EU
army for? Where would it be established? Who would be in command? What is NATO not doing that makes EU think they need an army? You see EU, people think you all want an EU army with people from all EU countries to do as few in Brussels please, and they are terrified that it would and could ever be used against civilians as repression or censorship or even worse. 4. Climate Change can be fought if we are wise to understand why people aren t willing to pay more to solve it. Most people do not feel significant changes in the weather around them and / or climate to think that they should pay more for something to fight an invisible ghost so to speak. One of the possible solutions could be to find ways to fight it that won t cost more to buyers. How to do this? Well, if the EU could gather a group of scientists and entrepreneurs combined to research how to do it, they will find one or more solutions. Why? Scientists aren t necessarily worried about costs when they are researching. Their focus is in finding solutions at any price. However, entrepreneurs are always
focused in making maximum profit at lower costs. Combining both efforts would help us all. It may be possible to get an eco gas at no additional costs and we would have people using it without resistance. 5. One of the things that could improve and unify countries in the EU and, also stimulate commerce would be to have a cheaper mail system. Is it not admissible that to buy something online that comes from an EU country one needs to pay more than if one buys that product from a country outside of the EU. Online customers care a lot about shipping and will not complete the order many times because of the shipping costs. I understand the shipping costs are determined by the country that sells the product, but there is a well-defined disadvantage against countries outside the EU that can offer shipping at lower costs to EU customers too. EU online sellers would benefit from a system that could decrease shipping costs. Everybody loves free shipping. It makes people buy more and more often. However, if
free shipping is not possible then the lowest cost shipping possible would be advisable and efficient. Free shipping is one of commerce s best allies. Customers seek for it and find it, and will choose an online store that uses free shipping over one that doesn t even if the products are slightly different. Low cost and free shipping make people buy more and more often and is a satisfied customer guarantee. 6. I think EU s brand could be built around the cultural diversity that exists in Europe from north to south, east to west. Diversity in languages, gastronomy, clothes and so many others are an unique Europe s trait that EU should value instead of trying to erase. To Europeans it doesn t matter much because they see it and have access to it everyday, however to people who are from outside of Europe, they find it amazing and enriching that there is such a cultural diversity within a relative small geographic area. EU could therefore in its twitter, facebook, Instagram pages advertise for all countries of the EU letting the world know
about each one s strengths. EU could advertise for tourism in the Southern countries during summer, ski resorts in the northern ones during winter. This would boost local economies and also EU economy because it is very likely that people who visit Europe for two weeks or so will travel around trying to get to know the most they can in a short amount of time. EU could have an unique brand in the whole world and that would be its strength in the world and create great incentives for investments and boosting countries economies. Europe s strength is its diversity, it is what makes it unique in the world and appealing to people outside of it. 7. Last, but not least, I really don t care about definitions of left and right, I m an independent philosopher and care more for what is right or wrong at any given time than left or right. I think Europe s downfall is in the global migration policies. At this moment in Europe s history, it would be wise perhaps to stop migration to Europe and then maybe in the future reinitiate it when things are better. Many countries have
repeatedly said that they do not wish to receive more migrants and they should be respected. Many people are protesting the global compact and if there aren t any structures to support these migrants and they aren t in school or any activity they will probably start feeling frustrated with their own lives too and many unfortunately will choose for life styles that aren t the ones we would hope for. I think EU is losing support among this issue. The rise of far right politicians and also neo-nazis and racists groups is in part due to the migration policies and expectations. These are some of the issues I see. Here s some solutions: 1. EU could speak about a new dream, reform, solution only after you know for sure it will come true and you are certain on how to make it happen. 2. Same as 1. 3. EU should think carefully about the creation of an EU army and what it would represent and how it would work. Also what would Europe s
position relating to NATO, how will it not interfere with NATO, and could check close to military people feel about it, since they are the military force of every country already. Also, picking out few countries as enemies perhaps is not advisable, when they haven t attacked or shown desire in attacking Europe. People in the military are very strict and don t take things lightly. How to do all this without creating conflicts right from the beginning? 4. An efficient Climate Change useful tool could be to gather a team of entrepreneurs and scientists (climatologists) to tackle how to get climate change solutions at no additional costs or the minimum additional costs possible. 5. To create a powerful and UNIQUE brand EU could diversify social media posts, creating a lot of curiosity for people outside of Europe to visit and invest. This requires showcasing the very best of each country. Gastronomy, wine, local culture, music, ski, beach, tourism, whatever it is for each one of them. this will not only create a sense of unity among Europeans but also
advertise for every country in Europe outside of Europe. 6. EU could create a system of low cost mail among online commerce. If possible free shipping, for example, for sales over a specific amount or under certain conditions. This will boost online commerce and make country members feel closer to each others. 7. I think there s times to be altruistic and times to be more self-centered. There s a great turmoil and discordance among countries about the global migration pact and Europe should think clearly about it and put the interests of Europeans first. If migration is creating more unrest than happiness, then it would be advisable to hold it off until things get better. Europe is now, at this moment in its History, ideologically divided and it would be better to ponder about it than ignore it.
I hope this makes sense to the EU, I truly want to help. I see that EU could be one of the most unique set of countries in the world but somehow doesn t have a strong UNIQUE brand and / or marketing system in place that benefits all country members and boosts all of their economies at the same time. I hope this helps. Best regards, Vanessa Ace Author, Philosopher, Screenwriter www.vanessaace.com