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The EU, a Model
of Cooperation
By Etienne Reuter
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The signing of the Treaty of Rome by France, West Germany, Italy,
Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg on March 25, 1957, which
established the European Economic Community [©European
Community] |
"A day will come when all
the nations of this continent, without losing their distinct qualities
or their glorious individuality, will fuse together and form the
European brotherhood. A day will come when the only battlefield will be
the marketplace. A day will come when bullets and bombs will be replaced
by ballots." These were the prophetic words of French poet Victor Hugo
in 1849. It took, however, more than a century of fratricidal wars and
millions of deaths before a few courageous and visionary statesmen from
Europe’s core came together to propose a project for peace through an
ever-closer union of Europe’s nations.
For hundreds of years the relations between European powers were
governed by balancing military might. In the 20th century, European
rivalries triggered world wars culminating in mass slaughter of civilian
populations and genocide. In 1945, Europe offered a picture of wrecked
economies and moral bankruptcy. Totalitarian ideologies represented a
mortal threat to its civilization and values.
Triumph of Diplomacy
The European unification process represents the triumph of diplomacy and
peacemaking over warfare, and an unprecedented model of cooperation
between nations. The original idea was to put the essential resources
and raw materials for the war industry under pooled supranational
management. The European Coal and Steel Community set up in 1951 had six
member states: Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It was an insurance for peace and a
recipe for prosperity. It brought together victorious and vanquished
nations to cooperate as equals within shared institutions.
The pressure to rebuild and restore inspired cooperation. At the
beginning the willing were few. Formidable psychological obstacles had
to be overcome to engineer reconciliation between nations that had
been taught to hate each other, had made war and wounded each other
deeply.
The economic cooperation between the original member states was an
immediate success story, developing fast and leading to a gradual fusing
of their economies and national markets into a single European
market without any internal hindrances to the free movement of goods,
services, monies and people. Economic performance and growth ensued.
One groundbreaking achievement was the creation of the European Monetary
Union and the common single currency, the euro, which is now used by 15
out of 27 member states. It energizes Europe’s economy. It has led to
the creation of an integrated payment area and a single communications
area with integrated transport networks and telecommunications.
The single market, with its 500-million customer base and the size and
importance of its manufacturing and service industries, its research and
development, plays a major role in setting standards not only for the EU
but worldwide.
A unique formula enables the member states of the European Union to
organize collective action in the interest of common concerns. The
member states delegate the exercise of part of their national
sovereignty to the Union. Institutions are all important.
Decision-making in the EU is inevitably complex, but the system ensures
collective efficiency while respecting the diversity of its membership.
Common policies for agriculture and fisheries, for energy including
nuclear, for science and technology, for industrial restructuring,
proved successful, and Europe’s wealth increased. So did its part in
trade,
and the EU established itself as the biggest donor of development
assistance and humanitarian aid in the world. Solidarity within its
society, between the prosperous and less prosperous regions and with the
developing world is a key component of all EU policies.
This model soon became a powerful attraction for the other European
nations. The six founder states were joined in 1973 by the United
Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark. Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986
followed. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of
Germany, the countries of Eastern Europe sought a future in the EU, and
by January 2007 the number of member countries stood at 27.
Negotiations continue with other candidate countries, for example
Croatia and Turkey. Indeed the EU is open to any European country that
fulfills the democratic, political and economic criteria for
membership. Such a country must have stable institutions, guaranteeing
democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection
of minorities.
The EU is barely 50 years old. It has grown to encompass most of the
European continent. Concerns about economic growth and jobs, quality of
life and damage to the environment are now top of the agenda. The
decision-making mechanism of the EU conceived for a community of six
countries needs to be adapted to the operational needs of a Union of 27
and more, and also needs to become more democratic and more easily
understandable for its citizens.
Climate Change
The single biggest challenge confronting Europe in the 21st century is
climate change. As a group of nations, the EU has the capacity, by
acting together, to implement long-term policies to reduce carbon
emissions and rehabilitate the natural environment. Energy policy is
intimately linked to these efforts. The EU must also use its clout to
play its part in shouldering responsibility and contribute to
international cooperation on climate change.
Fighting international terrorism, crime and people trafficking, illegal
immigration and money laundering are tasks where collective EU action
gives better results than the sum of individual national efforts.
The EU today offers a model of regional cooperation which challenges
other regions to see what they can do to build their own cooperative
mechanisms to ensure peace, development and stability.
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Etienne
Reuter, a lawyer from Luxembourg, is a senior official of the
European Commission in Brussels. He has represented the European
Union in Hong Kong and in Tokyo and was a visiting professor at
the National University of Singapore in 2007. |
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