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January 28, 2005

The Financial Times’ Quentin Peel addresses the implications of the "new" European Union

On Thursday January 27, The Charles Francis Adams lecture series hosted Quentin Peel, international affairs editor of Britain’s pre-eminent newspaper, The Financial Times. Mr. Peel spoke broadly across a number of topics. His lecture, titled “The Complex Politics of Enlarged European Union: Implications for Trans Atlantic Relations,” offered the attending Fletcher students and faculty refreshing “journalistic snapshots” of both the current European political scene and a number of his own predictions about the future.

After an introduction by Stephen Bosworth, Dean of The Fletcher School, Mr. Peel explained that he would be giving the audience a decidedly “un-British take on Europe.” Indeed, throughout his speech, Peel addressed head-on the perennial British skepticism towards the European Union project.

Enlargement

In his opening remarks, Peel encouraged the audience to “take a good look at enlargement and what it has done to change the character of the EU.” The impact, Peel explained, has been profound. Before May of 2004, when the Union accepted 10 new members mostly from the former Soviet Bloc, the Union was a “rich man’s club.” It was also dominated by large states: France, Germany, and the UK. Now, Peel explained, the former rich man’s club is largely becoming a “poor man’s club,” with the smaller countries insisting on having a collective voice. Peel also remarked that the addition of capital-starved Eastern European countries has spawned serious tensions between the “new” countries and the states that had been receiving a large percentage of EU aid. He cited the current spat between Spain and Poland as a primary example. “The battle for the EU budget,” Peel predicted, “is going to last for years and it’s going to be quite nasty.”

The new EU Consititution

Peel described a Europe increasingly divided over its future. While many states have embraced a more integrated model, a few of the larger countries, including France and Britain, are desperately trying to maintain a system of intergovernmentalism in which much of the EU’s power remains in the hands of the Council of Ministers. The recently signed European Constitution, however, has given more authority to the elected members of the European Parliament—in Peel’s view “the one institution that can truly provide democratic control for Europe.” Although he described the treaty as “clumsy,” Peel acknowledged that the new constitution had made a significant step towards eliminating the so-called “democratic deficit” that has been so often criticized.

The new Constitution, however, still faces ratification by the individual member states. Peel said that in many countries--including the Czech Republic--the process is going to be a difficult one. Some of the smaller states believe they have been shortchanged in a “big state deal, and in others, conservative opposition parties have drummed up support by running on a platform of ‘Euroskepticism.’ Ultimately, however, Peel predicted that is his home country, Britain, is by far the “most likely to vote “no” when push comes to shove.”

Transatlantic Relations

Peel finished his discussion by examining the future prospects for transatlantic relations. He noted: “there are more problems looming right down the line.” According to Peel, the biggest looming problem is Iran. While the Europeans see Iran as a stabilizing force for the Middle East and are therefore pursuing a strategy of diplomatic engagement, the Bush administration is more skeptical that diplomacy will ever convince Iranians to stop pursuing nuclear weapons technology. A second major issue that could deepen the current transatlantic rift is Europe’s determination to lift the arms embargo on China. Despite vehement protests in Washington, Peel explained, “the Europeans are dead set on doing it.”

European solidarity

Peel emphasized that all isn’t “doom and gloom.” He predicted that a more “inward- looking Europe” would find increasing solidarity in the coming years, in part because “the new states want the Union to work--they only get something out of it if it works.” “One thing that is very striking in the EU,” Peel explained, “is the enthusiasm that has come with enlargement. There is without question a new sense of excitement since May the first.”

Article by Nathaniel Hoopes, MALD '06

Posted by jessica at January 28, 2005 01:30 PM