German Papers The EU Hits a Fork in the Road
British prime ministers are rarely reticent when it comes to angling for attention in the European press. And Thursday is no different. As Tony Blair traveled to Strasbourg and the European Parliament to lay out Britain's vision for a "renewal" of Europe, the papers are full of his name.
The right-leaning Die Welt characteristically supports the British vision of Europe. Under the headline "A British understanding of freedom strengthens Europe," the paper says that the current paranoia concerning the so-called Anglo-Saxon model is an age-old replay of suspicions dating from the beginning of the 20th century. "Us against them, the heroes of the German soul against the heartless con-artists from the island, the European dream against those who want to destroy it." The commentator goes on to criticize French President Jacques Chirac's claims of Dickensian living conditions in Britain and ancient theories that the United Kingdom in Europe is nothing more that a Trojan horse for American neo-liberalism. "It is high time to confront the fairy tale with the reality," it adds. The paper condemns the traditionally European concept that the social model of the "old" EU is the best way of ensuring justice and protecting citizens in a time of need. In actual fact, the only thing that this model stands for, believes the commentator, is protectionism and subsidized agriculture, both of which act as a brake for technology and innovation and are harmful to Third World countries which are kept out of European markets. The paper says that the British model, on the other hand, offers "freedom from bureaucracy, unnecessary regulations, restrictive laws and protectionism." In fact the debate is not about choosing between a "social" Europe and a "market" Europe, but rather about creating an efficient Europe with a social approach. "Growth is in fact necessary for the social to even be possible. The key thing is not American neo-liberalism or Anglo-Saxon capitalism, but rather our common European future."
The Berliner Zeitung is also, rather surprisingly given its leftist leanings, on Blair's side when it comes to the current EU budget debate. "The reason Tony Blair is right," proclaims the lead commentary headline. Rather unfortunately for German farmers, Tony Blair's calls for cuts in CAP subsidies come in the same week as the national agricultural meeting in Rostock. Some 7,000 farmers gather here every year to discuss the future of German and European farming and, as the paper puts it, to complain about the state of the industry. But in fact, says the commentator, German farmers are not doing too badly at all compared to other industries. "Last year the average wage for farmers went up by five percent. And for this year the government predicts a further increase of 10 percent. ... Other industries can only dream of such growth." The fact that agricultural subsidies still account for half of the EU budget, even though farmers make up only five percent of the Union's population, means that "British Prime Minister Tony Blair is correct when he calls for drastic cuts in farming subsidies."
Meanwhile, the center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also devotes its front-page commentary to the direction in which Europe is headed. But although the commentator does not openly criticize the British Prime Minister for calling for budget reform, he does ask the question whether "Blair, (Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter) Balkenende and Chirac shouldn't maybe have been more magnanimous in acting in Europe's interests.... No one is willing (any longer) to pay billions for the idea of European unity." In fact, the paper believes that the EU has become a victim of its own success. "The mission of European unity, as it was defined after World War II, has largely been achieved. But no subsequent, equally convincing, aim has, as yet, been found. Europe, which in 1945 lay in rubble, has become a continent of peace and widespread prosperity. Sworn enemies have forgiven each other and have become politically, economically and culturally so closely tied that a revival of the old enmity is unthinkable." Yet despite all these successes the EU needs to decide on its direction. "Until Maastricht, when the member states gave up much of their sovereignty, it was possible to bring the various concepts of the end result of European integration under a common umbrella. That is now over." The paper concludes by saying that the Union is doomed itself to failure if it hangs on to the dogma of ever increasing expansion and integration. "A Europe which is controlled from above by groups, diametrically opposed to each other, conspiring together, is dead. The EU will have to become what its citizens want. If not it will banished, whimpering, to the history books."
