D’Estaing to Kathimerini: We need 'a clear vision' for Europe

On the eve of European elections, Kathimerini spoke with a "wise" European who may have the answers to some of the most fundamental questions challenging the Continent right now: How worrying is the rise of euroskeptic parties? What steps need to be taken in order to restore citizens' faith in the European project? Is Greece out of the woods yet?

Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing is one of the key architects of the European Union, a historic leader whose vision of a European family determined his political career. During his presidency, France and Germany set the foundations of the common currency - the euro - and established what was to become the most powerful EU institution, the European Council.

As a friend of Greece and close friend of late Greek statesman Constantine Karamanlis, d'Estaing was instrumental in Greece's admission to the then European...