Pay-Off For Franco-German Axis
29 June, 2004
France and Germany have named their price for agreeing to the appointment of free-market Atlanticist José Manuel Durão Barroso to the post of EU Commission President.
Germany wants to install its man, Gunter Verheugen, as "Super-Commissioner" for economic affairs. Germany's chancellor Gerhard Schröder argued this weekend that "It would be good if Germany took on a special responsibility for economic policy in the European Union."
Good for whom, exactly?
Chirac's Crack-Up Continues
29 June, 2004
It is hard to believe that once upon a time, French was the language of diplomacy.
Obviously France's President Jacques Chirac hasn't been paid much attention to his nation's history as a great negotiating power. In the latest in a long line of angry outbursts Chirac told President George Bush to keep his nose out of European affairs.
Prodi Celebrates Berlusconi Defeat
29 June, 2004
Romano Prodi will go down as another great EU commission president - for Eurosceptics. Both his predecessors had attributes which helped Eurosceptics argue their case: Jacques Delors' relentless federalism highlighted for many the dangers of leaving integrationists in charge.
Delors' successor, Jacques Santer, presided over a commission which demonstrated the innate corruption of a powerful, unelected bureaucracy. In 1999, Santer's entire commission was forced to resign on corruption charges.
And Prodi? Well, his promise to run a "clean hands" commission has been proved false, thanks to the endless corruption scandals which have dogged his presidency.
But that's not really news. What Prodi has really done to undermine the commission is to show how for all their visionary talk, EU leaders are unable to put Europe before the national politics of their home countries.
Iran Nukes EU Deal Hopes
28 June, 2004
EURSOC readers who wrote to express their reservations about the EU's Big Three's attempts to play Nice Cop and deter Iran from building nuclear weapons will read this weekend's news with grim satisfaction.
Tomorrow, Iran recommences its uranium enrichment programme - a process which most observers believe is part of the state's quest for a nuclear bomb.
EU Agrees New President
28 June, 2004
You might not have heard of José Manuel Durão Barroso before today but you can expect to hear a great deal more about him - not least on these pages - in the next few months.
For it appears that Durao Barroso, the prime minister of Portugal, has been chosen to replace Romano Prodi as the next president of the EU Commission.
Durao Barroso, who infuriated France and Germany last year by hosting the "Azores Conference" of pro-US nations prior to the war in Iraq, has emerged as a compromise candidate for president following a hectic round of negotiations, in which several nations were unwilling to reveal their favourites for the job for fear of drawing instant vetoes from rivals.
France - or perhaps Belgium, still fuming after Verhofstadt's setback - might yet block Durao Barroso. However, the centre-right Portugese PM is said to have maintained excellent relations with President Jacques Chirac, despite their differences on the war. Durao Barroso speaks fluent French as well - something Paris is absurdly touchy about.
Spain, too, under its new anti-US socialist leadership might mount a last-minute veto, but most commentators believe that after a dinner this evening Durao Barroso will emerge as Prodi's successor.
So what kind of man is he?
Sunset For Chirac
28 June, 2004
Right-winger Philippe de Villiers says Chirac's party is "mortally wounded." Centrist rival Bernard Debre claims that the President had reached "the end of his political existence."
Why is the sun going down so quickly on President Jacques Chirac?
Another Red Card For The Constitution
25 June, 2004
The Economist has joined the ranks of newspapers arguing for a vote against the EU consitution.
The newspaper claims that the EU needs a new treaty to set out the powers between Brussels and Europe's nations. The constitution, however, doesn't do this job satisfactorily:
"...the new treaty does nothing to provide citizens with any sense of control over the process of European government or the evolution of the EU.
Contrary to Laeken's aspirations, no powers have been repatriated. Protections for “subsidiarity”—ensuring that issues are dealt with at the most appropriate level—are weak at best, non-existent at worst: national parliaments are invited to speak up if they think subsidiarity has been flouted, but the European Commission is merely obliged to take note. A procedure known as the “emergency brake” will now allow governments that are uncomfortable with EU measures in social security or criminal justice to opt out of them, but the provision is so vague that it is unclear how it will work. And the European Court of Justice may have been given a more powerful role in coming decades in interpreting the constitution and especially its attached Charter of Fundamental Rights in such a way as to enforce and accelerate integration. Or it may not have been. No one can be sure."
Last year, the Economist responded to the publication of the constitution draft by saying that the treaty should be filed in the bin. In the next couple of years, Europe's voters will get the chance to do just that.
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Chirac Tries To Sink Rival
25 June, 2004
The skirmish between France's president Jacques Chirac and his finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy could erupt into full-scale war.
Blair Misreads The Constitution
24 June, 2004
MEP Daniel Hannan eviscerates Tony Blair's claims for the Constitution in today's Spectator.
Helpfully, Hannan also provides an outline of the sort of treaty Europe needs if it is to have any democratic basis.
Don't miss it.
Sarko Plays Down German Link
23 June, 2004
France's ambitious finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy has suggested that France must look beyond its close relationship with Germany if it is to remain a significant European power.
A Modest Proposal
22 June, 2004
Surprise, surprise, Germany has joined France in insisting that the next president of the European Commission must be from a country in the EU's "core area" - ruling out British, Nordic or central European candidates for the job.
Of course, this narrows the field to mostly Old European nations, who have been in the EU for decades and have signed up to integrationist policy such as the Single Currency.
Like France's president Chirac, Gerhard Schröder believes that a candidate from the EU's inner core would be more sympathetic to the often paradoxical Franco-German dynamic which demands more integration while breaking EU legislation it disapproves of.
The Telegraph reports that installing an Old European president would allow France and Germany to retain control over the pace and direction of EU integration.
Of course, the French and Germans shouldn't care so much about where a president comes from: EU commissioners are meant to be above national politics. The fact that few are able to ignore demands from their home governments demonstrates clearly the lack of confidence in EU institutions even at the highest level.
Ireland's Bertie Ahern might be a suitable candidate, though perhaps too wily for Chirac and Schröder. Ahern says he doesn't want the job anyway, which may be a fine example of his renowned wiliness or may simply mean he doesn't want the job.
Failing that, one name does spring to EURSOC's mind. He comes from a Eurozone single currency nation which has been in the EU since the union's inception. He is a prime minister - though his term may conveniently be approaching its end. He is a well-known figure in the European Parliament. Federalists will be delighted to know that he definitely believes in a power higher than his nation's judges. Best of all, his actions and demeanour embody the EU and its institutions better than any other European politician.
How could Chirac and Schröder resist Silvio Berlusconi for president?
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EU Constitution Analysed
22 June, 2004
Richard North of the EU Referendum Blog has produced a point by point analysis of the Constitution. You can download Richard's comments in pdf format here.
The file is being hosted by Francis Turner, who has added some interesting comments on the treaty to his blog.
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