Comments on: Two Views of Europe

By: DavidP

DavidP — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 19:03:03 +0000

There are clear signs that the Christian Democrats in Germany could be positioning themselves close to Tony Blair (Lib?ration). Following the failure of the EU summit, Angela Merkel was careful not to place any blame on Mr Blair. In the pro-CDU popular daily Bild, the British leader wrote about the cows that cost ‘2 euros per day’.

depuis l’?chec du r?f?rendum fran?ais sur la Constitution europ?enne le couple Chirac-Schr?der est moribond. Et m?me les plus francophiles des chr?tiens-d?mocrates n’ont pas de mots assez durs envers Chirac, le repr?sentant d’?un mod?le totalement d?pass??.

http://davidp1.blogspot.com/2005/06/dumping.html

By: la

la — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:42:18 +0000

AS an American, I would be cautious about writing the Europeans off as an economic force. The world is unpredictable.

By: Pavel

Pavel — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 23:25:55 +0000

I can see another possible scenario:

- a politically united continent UNABLE to hold its own in a globalized economy

By: Bob B

Bob B — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 21:59:51 +0000

ZF: “Schroeder seems to think that some political ju-ju from the EU’s politicians and bureaucrats can substitute for the effort and regulatory cost-reduction required to make Europe competitive.”

I entirely agree. It happens that the EU is an immensely useful supranational force to blame for all sorts of policy failings in domestic politics in EU countries when government have problems with flagging popularity. Occasionally the EU is to blame but many times it isn’t.

The present crisis over the EU budget for 2007-13 and Britain’s EU rebate was manufactured to deflect attention from other current issues - like the problems with the major Eurozone economies or the rejection of the EU Constitution treaty in the referendums in France and the Netherlands. The EU budget doesn’t really need to resolve the budget issue until spring next year but it was brought up now to embarrass Blair ahead of the UK taking up the rotating EU presidency for July through December.

By: ZF

ZF — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 21:01:10 +0000

“as a politically united continent able to hold its own in a globalized economy…”

Gerhard Schroeder is King Canute come back to life (I’m referring to the myth rather than the historical king, who was apparently smarter).

Schroeder seems to think that some political ju-ju from the EU’s politicians and bureaucrats can substitute for the effort and regulatory cost-reduction required to make Europe competitive. He and the rest of them are just dreaming the alluring dream that they are still relevant.

He’s setting Europeans up for a massive disappointment and humiliation, and will be remembered as are Jim Callaghan, Michael Foot, Arthur Scargill and that crew in the UK.

By: rjw

rjw — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:41:23 +0000

Also an interesting article by philippe douste-blazy , the french foreign minister, in yesterdays’s Le Monde. Pushes a very similar line.

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-664443,0.html

Personally I think this analysis is wholly misconceived. You won’t solve Germany or Italy’s (or the UK’s) economic problems through political action at EU level.

Not that the EU is unimportant. Just that it is only a part of the story - and not necessarily the biggest part. Another case here of building up expectations of the EU that cannot realistically be met.