Auf Wiedersehen to European Unity: In the aftermath of the Brussels summit, the continent is more divided than ever
The recent failure of European Union members to come to term on a common economic strategy (as opposed to a common fiscal strategy) begs the question- What is a common Europe, really? Is it about an economic trade zone to challenge America and China, is it about preserving common cultures or is it about an ‘All for one, one for all’ economic an cultural defense pact?
The Brits are being savaged in much of the European press but do they deserve that? Why should they climb onto what many consider a sinking ship? The Germans are being asked to bail out nations that have spent recklessly and who continue to resist meaningful reforms. Angela Merkel now has to deal with a population who are asking the same questions.
France’s Sarkozy is pushing every which way he can to get a deal to bail out Europe before he has to face voters who are demanding even more concessions from government and a greater social safety net. Sarkozy too, wants to get Germany committed (read: lined up) to help the French out when the time comes.
Europe has some real soul searching to do.
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The conclusion of the Brussels summit seemed to bring the lingering crisis of the Euro and the European economies a big step closer toward a resolution. All the key players could declare victory: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has protected the large French banks from exposure to southern European sovereign debt; German Chancellor Angela Merkel has succeeded in establishing the expectation of disciplined budgeting; and even British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose principles or recalcitrance—depending on your perspective—has led to the United Kingdom’s isolation within Europe, was able to return to London to the applause of the many Euroskeptics in his party and the public at large.
Of course, in all countries, there are significant oppositional voices. The Brussels agreement has contributed to tensions within the German ruling coalition because of very realistic concerns that Germany will end up footing the bill for its spendthrift neighbors. The post-summit worries are surely most articulate in Britain, where critics fear that the UK is sliding out of the European community and toward international irrelevance.
Perhaps one should not make too much of those British worries: Anxieties about the strength of cross-channel ties are a long-standing part of British politics. Cameron’s refusal to sign on to the agreement is part of a tradition, which includes the refusal by his predecessor, Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to support joining the Eurozone in 2008. Still, the dramatic divide that left Cameron alone in his opposition to the Brussels agreement has dominated the post-summit discussion. Is Britain genuinely moving out of Europe, and perhaps even toward a revised relationship with the United States? Only time will tell.
The summit also took on particular importance because of the financial turbulence in the lead-up to the gathering. It is worth reviewing the history of the current crisis to see how the fiscal issues have played out through competing visions of the shape of Europe. Debates over the European currency have been mediated by shifting perspectives on European geography.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and the introduction of the euro in 2002 all pointed toward the establishment of a unified European space. Yet the ongoing fiscal crisis, beginning in 2008, has unleashed pressures that are eroding that European unity. The process began with the debt crisis in Greece, whose initial integration into the European Union had great symbolic value but whose economic health—had it been fully aired—would have probably disqualified it from joining the Eurozone.
Is the UK sliding out of the European community and toward international irrelevance?