EUROPEAN UNION: GOLDEN JUBILEE
Published in B&E-19 April 2007
A bridge too far & beyond…
Despite numerous contentious issues the idea of European Union continues to thrive
“Europe is much more than dairy cows and the Chemical Directive,” states German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, addressing representatives from the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), gathered in Berlin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of European integration (the signing of the Treaty of Rome). The event culminated with a two page ‘Berlin Declaration’, outlining the political shape the union must adopt to compete in a globalised world.However, even after 50 years of continued effort, the integration is far from complete. There are many milestones yet to be achieved before the world and the local population of the region can begin to view EU as one single entity. But to believe the detractors that EU is facing a ‘midlife crisis’ would be an egregious folly. Considering the protracted period of hibernation to which the whole idea was subjected to, during the halcyon days of nation-states (till the mid 1980s) – its subsequent revival & rejuvenation in the early 1990s – one can safely state that the initiative is moving ahead at a reasonable pace, if not at full throttle. John Bruton, former Prime Minister of Ireland says, “Certainly, we still have work to do in completing the internal market… (the energy & the service sectors and the labour movements are yet to experience full liberalisation). With so many new members joining the EU, it’s not surprising to me that you do have controversies of low-wage pressures and ‘Polish plumbers,’ but I think people are starting to adjust.”It all began in 1951 with the Treaty of Paris; the process was re-invigorated in March 1957 with the Rome Treaty, when six nations – France, Germany (erstwhile West Germany), Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands joined hands to create a free-trade zone. The Rome efforts paved the way for creation of European Coal and Steel Community (to streamline steel and coal pricing & production among the six member states).The post Cold War realities resulted in the Maastricht Treaty (February 7, 1992) and eventually the evolution of European Union (EU), with a common currency (Euro) and a common Parliament.
States Rajiv Mata, Senior Fellow, IDSA, “Such a politically diverse set of nations have been able to pool in, a part of their sovereignty to form a robust union is not a mean achievement.” This is not to suggest that the entire process of integration has been smooth or has been devoid of ego trips and turf wars between nations and their respective leaders. The controversies surrounding the proposed EU Constitution are as rife as they were in 2005, when Netherlands and France voted against it.Although global poverty and climate change are the issues on which consensus among major players in the union does exist, yet the conservatives fear that France and Germany have more say than the smaller nations belonging both to the ‘new’ as well as the ‘old Europe’. Furthermore, security analysts suggest that the continent is divided on the foreign policy issues. This fact becomes apparent, when one sees Britain hobnobbing with the US on the vexed Iraq issue. Terrorism and the US unilateralism may not be enough to get the EU to form an unbreakable bond but rising economies like China and India combined is certainly a threat which the Europeans intend to confront jointly.
“Europe is much more than dairy cows and the Chemical Directive,” states German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, addressing representatives from the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), gathered in Berlin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of European integration (the signing of the Treaty of Rome). The event culminated with a two page ‘Berlin Declaration’, outlining the political shape the union must adopt to compete in a globalised world.However, even after 50 years of continued effort, the integration is far from complete. There are many milestones yet to be achieved before the world and the local population of the region can begin to view EU as one single entity. But to believe the detractors that EU is facing a ‘midlife crisis’ would be an egregious folly. Considering the protracted period of hibernation to which the whole idea was subjected to, during the halcyon days of nation-states (till the mid 1980s) – its subsequent revival & rejuvenation in the early 1990s – one can safely state that the initiative is moving ahead at a reasonable pace, if not at full throttle. John Bruton, former Prime Minister of Ireland says, “Certainly, we still have work to do in completing the internal market… (the energy & the service sectors and the labour movements are yet to experience full liberalisation). With so many new members joining the EU, it’s not surprising to me that you do have controversies of low-wage pressures and ‘Polish plumbers,’ but I think people are starting to adjust.”It all began in 1951 with the Treaty of Paris; the process was re-invigorated in March 1957 with the Rome Treaty, when six nations – France, Germany (erstwhile West Germany), Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg & Netherlands joined hands to create a free-trade zone. The Rome efforts paved the way for creation of European Coal and Steel Community (to streamline steel and coal pricing & production among the six member states).The post Cold War realities resulted in the Maastricht Treaty (February 7, 1992) and eventually the evolution of European Union (EU), with a common currency (Euro) and a common Parliament.
States Rajiv Mata, Senior Fellow, IDSA, “Such a politically diverse set of nations have been able to pool in, a part of their sovereignty to form a robust union is not a mean achievement.” This is not to suggest that the entire process of integration has been smooth or has been devoid of ego trips and turf wars between nations and their respective leaders. The controversies surrounding the proposed EU Constitution are as rife as they were in 2005, when Netherlands and France voted against it.Although global poverty and climate change are the issues on which consensus among major players in the union does exist, yet the conservatives fear that France and Germany have more say than the smaller nations belonging both to the ‘new’ as well as the ‘old Europe’. Furthermore, security analysts suggest that the continent is divided on the foreign policy issues. This fact becomes apparent, when one sees Britain hobnobbing with the US on the vexed Iraq issue. Terrorism and the US unilateralism may not be enough to get the EU to form an unbreakable bond but rising economies like China and India combined is certainly a threat which the Europeans intend to confront jointly.
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