The EU’s political maneuvering has taken on a new and remarkable form. Europe has failed in many of the most important international issues: It failed in unifying its position over the invasion of Iraq — the UK and Spain went against what was almost a consensus and subsequently the EU failed to prevent the US and UK from invading and occupying Iraq. It also failed over the last few years to play an effective role in the Arab-Israeli conflict, even though Germany is the godfather of the road map which Washington is trying to implement. All these failures are accelerating European efforts to find a mechanism for creating a unified policy.

Therefore the EU moved rapidly to create a constitution for the 15-member body, to appoint a foreign minister with a special council to unify EU foreign policy and create an independent military command for European defense operations outside the scope of NATO.

The German leadership, with wisdom and foresight, demanded the implementation of a reform of the union’s principles in order to deal with the anticipated expansion of EU membership from 15 to 25 states and to get rid of many of the roadblocks it has faced.

The German leadership presented the following seven conditions necessary to realize the needed reforms:

• Amending the general requirement of unanimity to make foreign policy and security decisions by a majority vote in order to allow greater flexibility in vital decisions. This amendment is a priority, and without it the EU will never become a superpower capable of competing with the US, China and Russia.

• Creation of a council specializing in foreign affairs with a committee on security and policy that meets weekly and has the right, on the invitation of the foreign minister, to hold official sessions to make decisions when necessary.

• Create a panel of experts to prepare foreign-policy decisions.

• Creation of the post of European foreign minister to guarantee the implementation of political decisions.

• Setting a standard for proficiency in international affairs so that the EU foreign minister of Europe becomes wholly responsible for the implementation of policies.

• Expanding the role of the European Parliament in making and following up on foreign policy, thus giving those decisions greater credibility.

• Preparing to unify the sectors that make up the EU and integrate their financial and human resources.

These conditions indicate that Europe is determined to put an end to its subordinate position to the US and to become politically independent in a way that benefits Europe.

We in the Middle East should follow these events closely because no doubt a competitive superpower will be of benefit to the Middle East, despite the fact that Europe is the main culprit in creating the Arab-Israeli conflict in the first place.

A single superpower steering the world is very dangerous and will create many conflicts as a result of the superpower’s bias toward Israel and double-dealing in regional issues. What is happening today is evidence of this. Peace in the Middle East has been elusive because of America’s bias toward Israel and the threats directed at all Arab regimes as well as Iran and Pakistan. Eastern Asia is in for similar conflicts as regards North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, Taiwan’s hostility toward China and foreign meddling in Indonesia. Neither the African continent nor Latin America has been spared.

I believe that the appearance of a second superpower could rebalance international policy — a third superpower would bring even greater equilibrium to the international arena. Until this happens, worldwide peace remains a dream.

- Arab News Opinion 1 September 2003