DO NOT expect street parties across the continent as the European Union marks its 50th birthday this weekend. Last week, The Economist’s cover story proclaimed “Europe’s mid-life crisis”, and many across the Union – even within Brussels – would share that view.
Triumphal, visionary Europe has been replaced by a Europe of doubts and introspection. The rejection of the Constitution in The Netherlands and – especially – France has emphasised a sense of drift. Who are the politicians of today who dare dream of a Europe that subsumes their own national sovereignties? Across the continent, right wing nationalists grow in confidence, exploiting a malaise of national identity that has seeped into political life.
So it is important today to proclaim the remarkable achievements of an enterprise unique in history, a voluntary association of six, now 27, states that over half a century have increasingly pooled their sovereignty for the benefit of a common interest. On the back of a brutal age of empires, the EU has effectively built up an empire without conquest or war.
And that is its greatest single achievement: the longest continuous period of peace in European history, accompanied by the greatest ever prosperity for its citizens, and robust democracies across the European Union.
In a sense, the EU has been a victim of its own quiet success. Peace and stability have undermined national identity – often built upon national antagonisms – leaving a void, a question mark in people’s minds. Acceptance of European rules has allowed politicians across the EU to carry out unpopular but necessary reforms, while shifting the blame onto Brussels – which undoubtedly has paid the price in popular perceptions.
Too often, the EU has been the scapegoat of the dishonest politician. Yet whenever we complain about its arcane bureaucracy and infuriating red tape, we would do well to remember that the EU is the world’s largest internal trading market, and that individuals can learn, live and do business wherever in the Union they chose to do so. Whenever we complain about rising prices, we should stop and think that the eurozone is actually one of the lowest inflation areas in the world. And whenever we complain about money being swallowed up by Brussels, we should remember the millions of euros in regional aid that have transformed countries like Ireland, Spain and Greece.
It is not the divisions in Europe that are surprising, it is the fact that at key stages over the past half century, politicians have had the vision to overcome them, to work together, to build a common future. That is a continuous challenge, one that will inevitably have its ups and downs. Often in our introspection, we fail to see the remarkable achievements. But let us not blind ourselves: the queue of countries still clamouring to join is a fitting testimonial to the EU’s extraordinary success.
