Recently the New York Times published an
interesting editorial, which touched upon the ‘Future of Europe’ – one of the
priority topics for debate in the coming years. Even though the article was
prompted by the Cypriot bailout, the author takes a step back and puts the
current situation in a wider picture.
Current problems can be tracked back to the 1950s
and ‘60s when the EU was established as a ‘loose union of sovereign states’.
That hasn’t been a problem until now - the EU enlargement cycles and the
introduction of the Euro weaken the loose and decentralised structure that the
EU is built on:
‘Instead of preserving sovereignty and
nurturing democracy, it has created a situation where paymaster nations like Germany
seek to impose the policy preferences of German voters on other states without
regard to economic circumstances. ... A better governed EU would put more
emphasis on reviving growth in the south and stimulating consumer demand in the
north.’
Moreover, the article emphasises that ‘there
is not much European vision among today’s top national leaders. No Helmut Kohl
or François Mitterrand sits among them to bring fellow leaders to their senses
before local political motives lead them into continent wide blunders. ...
There are plenty of smart politicians attending EU summit meetings and plenty
of capable European commissioners keeping the Brussels bureaucracy whirring. But there [is
nobody] pushing for the interests of Europe as a whole, not just the interests
of Germany, France, Finland, the Netherlands or Cyprus — even as ambitious
projects like the euro have increased the need for coherent and consistent
rules and policies.’
Although the article is clearly written from a
US
point of view, the article touches upon one of the core issues for the years to
come: the EU needs a clear vision, as well as pragmatic changes to its
structure while at the same time preserving the sovereignty of its Member
States.
Dan LUCA & Nienke van Leeuwaarden
/ Brussels
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