The European Community was created in 1957 with the aim of finding a means of economic cooperation between a number of European countries.
With time, the Europeans were able to develop and expand that idea to the level of economic, political and social union in a framework that would not reduce the independence and individuality of each member of the union.
They kept abreast with the changes taking place on the world stage, especially after the Soviet Union crumbled and the United States began to unilaterally steer global policies in accordance with its own interests. The Europeans’ goals developed into a vision that far surpassed their earlier aspirations. It became their aim to create a united states of Europe that stands side by side with the United States of America, acting as a sort of balance in international policy. The Chinese giant meanwhile has yet to awaken from its slumber and change the shape of the international community.
Nearly 50 years after its establishment, the EU leadership adopted the first unified European constitution in the history of the continent. That is considered a preliminary steps toward what are anticipated to be long and heated sessions between member states, some of whom reject the idea and some who accept it, in order to finally create a decisive framework for this constitution, to be presented at the ministerial conference set for October.
If the Europeans do in fact manage to put this unified constitution into place and modernize the post of the president of the union (making it a full-time post lasting around 2 to 2 1/2 years rather than the current rotating system) then the European constitution will truly pave the way for a politically unified Europe in the near future. This political unity with continued economic integration will turn Europe into the United States’ equal.
The European ambitions for a USE have changed the European political tone, especially toward its greatest ally, the US. The Europeans envision a unified European entity becoming a superpower and have diplomatically rejected the American molds that Washington wanted to impose on the world, especially with regard to security issues, in Europe post-Sept. 11.
The European tendency toward independence has become the dominant feature of collective European action, hence the peacekeeping tasks in Afghanistan under the flag of the UN, their presence in the Balkans under the NATO umbrella and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which came as a result of a decision by the EU. This has occurred despite attempts by the bigger members within the union to tone down the language of dialogue with the US over political and security differences.
This comes at a time when Washington is trying to win over to its side the poorer European nations in need of economic aid, the majority of which are Eastern European countries previously behind the Iron Curtain, and all looking forward to joining the EU. But at the same time they want continued good ties with the US. The question is, will the European-US reconciliation lead to a halt in the economic war between the two? In reality, the economic/commercial clash could develop into a full-scale economic war beginning with a war between the dollar and the euro, disagreements over trade in American genetically modified products, support of agriculture and international sanctions on American companies that are granted tax relief for its export activities.
The European vision threatens US hegemony over the world. Some analysts suspect that this unified constitution will pave the road for the creation of a superpower equal to the US in the near future. Those who are more optimistic foresee Europe becoming a model of a giant superpower that will dominate the world, especially if China is late in becoming a superpower itself.
Arab News Opinion 14 July 2003
