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We were certainly very few yesterday celebrating the 16th anniversary of the adoption of the directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation. It came only six months after the so called race equality directive that aiming to prevent discrimination in many areas of life including education, health, employment and transportation. Two equality directives were passed in a year. Do you remember that? This has not happened since. Was this the golden age for social progress in the European Union? Yes it was, and we have to be ready for a long winter of nations with less Europe and a shredded social agenda.

Yesterday Francois Fillon won the centre-right Presidential primary in France and is likely to be the next French President. After the catch-all slogan of the Brexit campaign “Take back control”, the Hungarian referendum rebuking the reallocation of refugees in all EU countries because Victor Orban wants national politicians to decide their own countries’ fate, the position of the French right-wing candidate on the EU is crystal clear: “today Europe is at best seen as inefficient, useless, outdated and at worst as an obstacle to our development and freedom”.

These slogans putting the “nation first” are bound to be amplified through the next 12 months with the UK negotiating its exit from the EU and national elections taking place in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Germany, with many of these candidates fielding far-right and extremist candidates.

None of those likely to win national elections is pro-European, likely influenced by high levels of Euroscepticism among the general public or by the narrative from the far-right. This is going to lead to far less integrated Europe and to a social agenda that was never really strong but which will completely disappear from the EU agenda.

We might have to celebrate a lot more anniversaries of the 2000 directives before we can celebrate new EU laws to protect people in the most vulnerable situations. But we are used to long winters – fighters for progress have never really known a long summer of progress. But our day will come again – and we shall overcome.

Let’s engage!

Pierre Baussand, Director