Under the gray sky, laden with torrents of water flowing on the Rotterdam motorway, parade along the roadway the silhouettes of cargo ships with their high castles, the mountains of containers, the tapered cranes, the massive gantries. The first port in Europe - eighth in the world behind the Asian giants - stretches over 40 km, from the estuary of the Meuse and the Rhine to the North Sea. It is the engine of the economy of the Netherlands and the lung of Europe: per million tonnes, oil, gas, agricultural products, goods of all kinds arrive or leave from here.
It is also the European economy that Emmanuel Macron will defend at 10 a.m. by picking up his phone to join the other 26 European leaders by videoconference. "Two hours of discussion, no more a priori, this formula does not lend itself to a decisive summit on the recovery plan, says a diplomat. For that, we would need a physical meeting, with private meetings, backstage negotiations… ”It will be for July. Because the stake is enormous: the ambitious European post-Covid-19 recovery plan of 750 billion euros, initiated by the Franco-German couple Macron-Merkel. But the “frugal” countries (Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden), strict on the budgetary level, do not want to sign a blank check to the “spending” countries of the south, more hit by the pandemic. Objective of today's video conference? "Know once the positions of each of the 27, to be able to move forward and conclude by the end of July," continued the diplomat.
Meanwhile, at the port and around Rotterdam, the Netherlands, renowned for their rigor, workers' opinions are mixed.
"My work depends on Europe, if it is going well my business is going well, if it slows down, as at the moment with the Covid-19 crisis, our activity is decreasing", describes Tony Scholts, solid quadra camped on the docks. Electrician in a logistics company in the transport of coal and iron ore to Belgium and Germany, he earns 3,750 euros net per month. "Pay for European recovery? Yes, it's normal for those with the strongest shoulders to take the brunt of the burden, ”he says.
But all his colleagues do not understand it that way. "They find that Europe is expensive, protects us less well than our own unions against unfair competition from Filipino or other port workers, and even threatens us with its environmental constraints dictated by Brussels," says Tony. His company, whose blackish slag heaps the horizon, will have to invest to comply with the new CO2 emission standards of the Green Deal, shared by the Netherlands and the European Union.
For Rotterdam, the transformation into a “green” port, a pioneer in the digitization of activities, the capture of CO2 to transform it into heating for homes in the region, the use of photovoltaic energy from solar panels, electric motorization of ships, is crucial. "It is for such investments that the European recovery plan must also be used, not only to finance the deficits of the countries of the south", demands a member of the Dutch employers.
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Thirty minutes by car from Rotterdam, in the village of Spijk, the decor changes completely. Dressed in his peasant jumpsuit, wearing boots, 38-year-old Bart Belser welcomes visitors to his family farm, proudly presents his 55 cows: "Holsteins in black pie dress, Montbéliard reds and Brown swiss, each of which gives 30 liters of milk per day ”. This allows him to make and sell his cheese, young or old Gouda, and to deliver the rest to the dairy cooperative. He too measures what Europe brings. “We are the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, and 80% of our sales go to the Union. "
Bart also receives, each year, a European subsidy of 300 euros per hectare (he owns thirty). The farm, which he runs with his wife and in-laws, provides them with an annual income of 130,000 euros. However, the future is uncertain, and Bart is not sure he wants his 3-year-old son to succeed him one day.
"I want my country to help others, but under certain conditions"
First, there are the statements by a member of the centrist-liberal government coalition of Mark Rutte, announcing a halving of the number of farm animals in the country, for ecological reasons. "My neighbor has just enlarged his pig farm from 20,000 to 30,000 pigs, he fears that he will have to leave," says Bart. It is paradoxical to ask for the cheapest possible meat, and to decrease the livestock. "
And then there is this Europe for which we still have to pay. “I want my country to help others, but under certain conditions. In Holland, people work until the age of 67, so France, Italy and others have to raise the retirement age ”. His stepfather - "baby boom generation", laughs the interested party - agrees: "It is unfair that we work more, so that the others benefit!" "
"750 billion to revive Europe, it's a huge sum, I'm not sure we need as much," said Marco Harreman, 46, chocolate maker on a trendy artery in Rotterdam. He himself did not suffer from the semi-containment linked to Covid-19. “The restaurants I provide remained closed until June 1, but customers bought a lot from the store. We needed sweetness, I had my best Easter holidays! "
What scares him is that these European remittances, seen here as pure and simple gifts, "risk fueling corruption and waste in Italy, Romania or elsewhere". Is Holland a “stingy country”, as some people call it? "It's a cliché," Marco replies, "we are ready for solidarity. But public money is taxpayers' money; it is our responsibility to monitor where it goes and how it is spent. "
More forgiving, Julia Vié, 25, a journalism student at the University of Amsterdam, considers "unfair that the countries of the south and east borrow at higher rates from the money which is used partly to buy them. northern products. Europe should focus on strengthening these economies. "
Between her studies and her small jobs, she herself does not yet pay taxes but says she is sure of one thing: "For the recovery plan to go into public opinion, it is necessary that too many multinationals that do not pay no or very few taxes are finally used, too. Solidarity must be worth for everyone.