German Chancellor Gerhard Schr?eder has a bold vision for the EU. He wants the powers of the European Commission strengthened, a second chamber for the European Parliament and a European federal government with its own army and foreign policy; the present nation states would be demoted to a secondary level, akin to the states of the USA.
French President Jacques Chirac, however, is against a superstate — hardly surprising for a Gaullist. He wants member states to remain the motor of European decision making, operating in a confederation. Like Schr?eder, he sees no problem in a two-speed Europe, with some countries (the so-called “pioneer” group) in joint programs such as the common currency, and others not. He also favors a European constitution and a special secretariat in Brussels to coordinate the affairs of the “pioneer” group. His Socialist Prime minister Lionel Jospin, although likewise opposed to a European superstate and also favoring a constitution, has generally rather different views. He wants what he calls a European economic government (meaning a single tax regime as well as unified investment policies), standardized rights for employees across Europe, a European police, a permanent Council of Ministers in Brussels and an annual Congress of national parliaments to discuss European affairs. (This last beggars belief; it would be pandemonium and would be in direct conflict with Europe’s own directly elected parliament.) He is opposed to a two-speed Europe.
From the European Commission’s president, Romano Prodi, comes yet other ideas. Far from whittling down the Commission’s very considerable powers (which is what Jospin’s proposed permanent Council of Ministers would do), he wants to increase them: the euro should come directly under Brussels control with a commissioner overseeing it; so too should European foreign policy-making, currently run by Javier Solana.
This abundance of ideas as to where Europe should be heading — and none of them the same — indicate a powerful vacuum at the heart of Europe. It is not surprising therefore that the issue should impinge so forcefully in the UK’s general election. Unfortunately, neither of the two main parties are honest as to what they really think. The Conservatives constantly bang the anti-European drum as if they would like to quit altogether. Yet the Conservative leader William Hague knows there is no future for Britain outside the EU; it cannot leave without incurring devastating economic reprisals. But he also knows that the options are limited on the inside.
The notion that the clock can be turned back and the EU again become a common market is a pipe dream. Nor will there be any special renegotiation for the UK such as being held out by Hague. The Conservative leader is right when he says that once in the euro there will be no way out: it is a pity that he cannot extend the analysis and say that, once in the EU, there is also no way out without the greatest economic pain.
Prime Minster Tony Blair is little better then Hague. He favors the euro and is generally pro-European. But apart from last week’s very qualified support for the euro, he avoids the subject. That is because he fears that his views will be unpopular with the British electorate. He does not need to be so defensive. The anti-European views of William Hague resonate with most of the British public but they are not going to win him next week’s general election. Much as the Conservatives try and make Europe and the euro the issue, the British public are not interested — and certainly not to the point of trying to evaluate what Europe’s leading politicians propose. Indeed, it has to be suspected that they are bored with the whole show: rarely, if ever, has there been such a low appetite for politics in the UK. It may be a reflection of British distaste for the American presidential style of electioneering adopted by both Labor and the Conservatives, with its particular emphasis on denigrating each other. More likely it is that the British have decided that the battle is already won and lost and that they might as well get on with the rest of life.
