If Europe wants to pull out of the doldrums, it will have to integrate more, not less. Of course, that motto has been heard before. The old federalist’s credo, some may say, is what got us into the present mess in the first place. In the light of attacks on the EU from both right and left, it’s harder than ever to defend the integrationist view. Yet it remains the only way out of Europe’s many travails.
Of course, there is the option of discarding what has been achieved since the 1957 Treaty of Rome because the present outcome doesn’t fully live up to the expectations of whatever politics you subscribe to (not enough social protection for the left, too much regulation for the right). But the constructive way out of the crisis would be to forge ahead towards mechanisms for deeper cooperation. It is a road that ultimately leads to a common economic policy for the Eurozone, and a multi-layered Europe.
Recently France and Germany have, to varying degrees, indicated that they are interested in such a way forward. Britain will not be part of it because, historically, its mindset and political culture set it apart from the other large European states. Others, such as Poland, who are not part of the Eurozone will eventually have to make a strategic choice. As always with the European project, it is likely that fear of the abyss will be the main driving force for progress. The Greek crisis has given everyone a timely reminder what the abyss looks like.
It is interesting that the recent gruelling events in Europe have fired up such old debates again
With this in mind, it’s hardly surprisingly to hear the name of Jacques Delors cited more frequently these days. Whenever Europe flounders, the rule seems to be to call upon the founding fathers to consolidate the project once more. Delors, a French socialist who headed the European commission from 1985 to 1995, evidently feels comfortable in his role as a sage: recently he called for urgent repair work to the EU’s architecture.
The Eurozone, he said, simply could not continue to be governed the way it is currently: “The economic and monetary union needs to be recast,” he said. “Will they do this? There was an error in the construct to start with. There have also been stupidities, and there has been the incapacity of the Eurozone to put an end to these.” Now the time had come to address those mistakes. The problem wasn’t the common currency in itself, but the fact that it had remained an incomplete project.
Last week Francois Hollande came out of what will possibly be remembered as the most harrowing summit in decades with that same conclusion. The French president called for the creation of an “avant-garde” for European states in favour of deeper integration. Mentioning Delors as a reference, he called for the creation of a “Eurozone government”, which would have its own budget as well as a parliament to ensure democratic oversight. His prime minister, Manuel Valls, has suggested that this avant-garde should be made up of the three founding states of the European project: France, Germany and Italy.
Key factor
Of course, this could turn out to be little more than utopianism. But it is interesting that the recent gruelling events in Europe have opened up such a debate. No doubt the obstacles are numerous. One obvious key factor will be Germany’s reaction to the French proposals. Now regularly vilified as Europe’s hegemon, Germany will have to map out the advantages — for itself and for the continent as a whole — of turning the crisis of the euro into an opportunity for change. This is another test for Angela Merkel: will the damage done to Europe’s image in many minds, and to that of Germany in the role of dominant power, lead to a reckoning?
I wouldn’t bet against it. There is no doubt that in recent years Germany’s insistence on strict fiscal discipline has determined much of what has happened in the Eurozone. But it is also worth remembering that Merkel has previously taken a stand in favour of deeper, more comprehensive and political integration — one that no longer gives the impression that one European state is more equal than others.
In a 2012 speech in front of the EU parliament she called for a stability union that would involve not only a common fiscal policy but also a common economic policy and more democratic authority and control. In this plan, different countries would move at different speeds. Some would agree to wider cooperation, others wouldn’t. Behind the scenes, her advisers enthusiastically paid tribute to Delors’ original vision.
Political dimension
The flaws in the make-up of the Eurozone that have been laid bare during the current crisis are not much of a surprise. Though a passionate proponent of a common currency, he had already warned back in 1989 that it would require “a high degree of consensus on economic policy as well as in a number of political areas”. In any democratic entity, monetary policies need a political dimension and legitimacy. Citizens need to feel that there is oversight from elected representatives. This is the whole point behind the idea of setting up something resembling a Eurozone parliament, which is currently being put forward.
Europe’s currency was created mainly because France felt the need to overcome its anxiety about German reunification by harnessing the new Germany to an ever denser mesh of European agreements. The euro was meant as an important step towards tighter political rapprochement. It seems therefore fitting that France should now come out with proposals to make that project more complete.
Because of its political significance, and because of the uncertain geopolitical environment that Europe finds itself in, the euro is more than a product with a design flaw that can be shelved or whose production can simply be stopped. The avant-garde formula should be explored. No one would be forced to join in, and decisions wouldn’t be taken behind closed doors, but through a legislative body. That perspective alone could go a long way towards neutralising the populists who have thrived on this crisis.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
Natalie Nougayrede is a columnist, leader writer and foreign affairs commentator for the Guardian. She was previously executive editor and managing editor of Le Monde.
