Europe and its Constitution : lessons from the news

Since the start of the referendum campaign, Europe has seldom been out of the headlines. The steady stream of news is not, however, generated by the campaign itself: it simply reflects the cruising speed of European politics today.

Europe has suddenly claimed centre stage with the mass media, which previously dismissed it as boring but has now decided that the public can’t get enough of it! And so we discover that dozens of issues are discussed and, indeed, decided at European level every day, that the European Union’s achievements are worth preserving, and that the Constitution will be the key to changing the scale, spirit and nature of political Europe. Simply reading the news may, in fact, be the best way to learn what European politics is all about.

THE EUROPEAN UNION MOVING ON

Consumers


. April. Four new directives are adopted which together harmonise the entire system of food safety regulations throughout the EU. They replace 17 existing directives, each of which had been interpreted in 25 different ways in the Union’s 25 Member States. Full traceability will ensure that responsibilities right along the production chain are clearly defined, thus putting into general application the rules that have applied to red meat since the BSE crisis. The new directives prioritise the interests of the consumer and also have the full approval of food professionals – not only manufacturers and distributors but also the delicatessen, butchery and bakery trades and the farming sector (including the entire dairy industry) – endorsing the extension across Europe of standards already applied in France.

. 11 May. The European Commission officially recognises ‘Miel d’Alsace’ (‘Alsace Honey’) as a Protected Geographical Indicator, the latest in a list of 700 local or regional food-product labels to enjoy this protection. Having supported the productivity revolution in agriculture 30 years ago, the Union is now putting its weight behind the quality revolution.

. 8 March. A major victory for consumers over French banks. Following the lead of the Spanish-owned Caixa group – whose policy was supported by a European Court of Justice judgment last October – and L’Ecureuil, several French banks resign themselves to paying interest on current accounts. The European Commission announces initiatives to give banking customers all over Europe a better deal, particularly on life insurance and savings schemes – an example of how the ‘free and fair competition’ loathed by Trotskyites, and central to the working of the Common Market since 1957, protects consumers against the big banks and their dominance of the market.

International trade


. February. Jacques Barrot, the French EU Commissioner for Transport, is mandated by the Union to negotiate air-transport agreements with the USA, Russia and China on behalf of Europe as a whole. The potential prize is the opening of new markets for both Air France and Airbus in the three countries of the world where air transport is growing fastest.

. April. Philip Morris agrees to pay 1.2 billion dollars to the European Community and 10 Member States, the penalty for its complicity in a cigarette-smuggling and money-laundering racket.

. 1 May. Europe imposes financial sanctions on US imports as a means of forcing Washington to drop the Byrd amendment – condemned by the WTO – which empowers the US government to fund export aid through illegal anti-dumping levies.

. 13 May. With the support of the entire European Union, French candidate Pascal Lamy is appointed to the key post of Secretary General at the World Trade Organisation. He will orchestrate the next round of global trade negotiations.

Under the Constitution, Europe will now be represented in those negotiations not by a senior international civil servant, as it has been to date, but rather by a top-ranking political leader, because the European Commission and its President are henceforth to be elected by the European Parliament, as part of a programme to give Europe’s citizens a bigger say in the political directions taken by the Union on their behalf.

Regional policy


. Late December 2004. The Millau Viaduct goes into service: the largest structure of its kind in the world, the viaduct was built with European funding. For 12 years now, Europe has provided a third of the cost of investments under the French system of State-regional planning partnerships. This European funding is available for economic, social, environmental and cultural investments. Thousands of projects all over France – including protection of the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, restoration of the Pont du Gard and reconstruction of La Fayette’s frigate in Rochefort – would have been impossible without this European support.

Environment


. 16 February. The Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions comes into force despite opposition from the USA and China – a triumph for Europe, which managed to win round to its view the rest of the world, including Japan and Russia. Under the terms of the Protocol, 30 industrialised countries commit themselves to achieving by 2012 a level of CO2 production 5% below that of 1990. It is the first example in history of a planet-wide effort to protect our environment from the adverse consequences of human activity, and the first truly practical expression of the concept of ‘sustainable development’.

. 10 May. A European Parliament vote clears the way to update the 1976 Bathing Water Directive – the latest step in 30 years of persistent effort by Europe’s policy makers, which has seen the quality of our drinking-water resources, rivers and coastal waters restored in the space of a generation. In France, 80% of current environmental standards are the product of Community-level decisions.

Industry


. 27 April. The Airbus A-380 makes its first flight from Toulouse. The aircraft is an astonishing symbol of European integration, with components from 16 different factories: the cockpit was built in Germany; the UK supplied the wings and engines; Spain built lower sections of the fuselage; and other fuselage sections as well as the landing-gear bay were constructed in Nantes, France. The EU’s role in Airbus included advance funding for research, responsibility for safety standards, dismantling national restrictions that constituted artificial barriers, negotiating air-transport agreements with the USA, Russia and China, and fighting the cause of Airbus against Boeing at the WTO.

The European Constitution paves the way for the development of more European industrial ‘champions’ like Airbus and Aventis-Sanofi – of which there are currently too few. Under Article III-279 the Union can implement a proper industrial policy of its own, building on its traditional competition and trade policies.

Currency


. March 2005. Taking its cue from the Bank of China, Russia’s Central Bank announces a doubling of its euro reserves at the expense of the US dollar (in both countries the proportion of reserves held in euro will rise from 10% to 20%). The change proves that the euro has earned full credibility at global level – although it remains a tool rather than a political weapon. The Constitution establishes a ‘Mr Euro’ post to speak for all the Member States on the single currency. The post-holder will fill an institutional gap by liaising with the President of the European Central Bank on monetary policy, and will also negotiate as an equal with US, Chinese and Japanese counterparts in order to end the practice of currency dumping.

National and local public services


. 3 May. The European Commission approves French state aid to airlines serving Corsica in the interests of ‘territorial continuity’, agreeing that the aid furthers a social purpose. Similarly, it has not only authorised but has also agreed to part-fund a broadband network for rural areas of Limousin – deeming it a Service of General Economic Interest that could not be supplied on a straightforward market basis. The legal framework for operation of the infrastructure will be a ‘public service delegation’, for which there is a provision in French law. The two decisions provide double confirmation that Europe respects the concept of public service à la française and will even help to fund it.

Clearly the Union acknowledges the need for public services and for state aid when it is justifiable in the public interest, provided it is not a covert means of attacking foreign competition. The Constitution (see above) will strengthen the obligation to respect public services.

TOMORROW’S EUROPE TAKING SHAPE

Foreign policy


. 21 February. President Bush, on his first official foreign visit since re-election, heads for Brussels to talk with EU leaders on a range of matters for which the Union is responsible – including trade, the environment (notably the Kyoto Protocol) and the tussle between Airbus and Boeing – before meeting the French President, the German Chancellor and the British Prime Minister to address major diplomatic issues, including Iraq and the Middle East, that remain within the remit of national governments. Under the Constitution, the Union will be represented by a President of the European Council, elected for a term of up to five years, who will talk as an equal with leaders of the major world powers.

. The Ukraine’s peaceful revolution. The European Union kept an effective watching brief as Viktor Yushchenko freed Ukraine from Russian hegemony. The Union had served as a model for the many Ukrainians who dreamed of achieving liberty for their own country. The European Constitution (Article I-57) enables the EU to offer Ukraine – like Turkey – the status of ‘privileged partnership’, allowing us to support completion of its democratic transition, even if it does not join the Union.

Security and defence


. 1 January. A European force under European command takes over peace-keeping duties in Bosnia for the first time: the 7 000 strong EU contingent replaces a US-led NATO force. Having learned a humiliating lesson when it proved powerless in Bosnia 12 years ago, the EU now has its own force of Blue Berets which has already helped to prevent violence in Macedonia. The Constitution (in Article I-41) provides for the establishment of a European Defence Agency with the further goal of developing a common armaments policy and enabling those countries that wish to do so to form a fully fledged joint defence force.

Health


. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control opens in Stockholm, providing Europe with an early-warning network against the threat of epidemics. The Constitution empowers the Union to tackle ‘common safety concerns in public health matters’ – covering not only epidemics but also prevention and research into health scourges including cancer, cardio-vascular disease and degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

Social affairs


. 6 April. The French National Assembly transposes two longstanding EU directives into national law.


– The first, dating from 1999, addresses the problem of temporary employment in the civil service: employees who have worked two consecutive fixed-term contracts of three years’ duration must now be offered a permanent post.


– The second, enacted as long ago as 9 February 1976, requires administrative bodies to apply the principle of equal treatment for men and women in access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions. French law has thus taken 30 years to catch up with the EU!


The Constitution also takes women’s rights a step further by enshrining gender equality (in Article I-3) as an objective in every aspect of the Union’s work, and (in Article I 2) as a value of civilisation and a criterion for both Union membership and the validity of EU legislation.

. 11 May. The European Parliament toughens the provisions of the draft Working Time Directive at its first reading. Throughout the Union the maximum length of a normal working week will be 48 hours; beyond that, workers will be entitled to overtime rates. Parliament proposes to phase out an existing opt-out arrangement for certain countries, including the UK, whereby employers could require certain workers to disregard the working-time rule. The Directive lays down a compulsory minimum standard, leaving countries free to provide nationally for a shorter working week, as France has done with its 35 hours, but also helping to combat ‘social dumping’. Europe’s trade unions have welcomed this sign of social progress.


The Constitution will take the Member States a further essential step towards ‘social Europe’: it requires that all the social and environmental objectives enshrined in Article I-3 must – just like the aim of gender equality – be integrated into the full range of Union policies. In other words, rejecting the Constitution means rejecting those priorities.

European public services


. 17 March. A protocol agreement is signed on the creation of a European Rail Traffic Management System, with 4 billion euros earmarked for investment over 10 years in harmonising national electronic rail-traffic management systems. The Constitution (in Article III-122) also provides for the next step, namely the development of a genuinely European public rail-transport service.

Space


. First successful test flight of the new-generation Ariane 5 ECA rocket. Arianespace (operating the commercial launch service) and the European Aeronautic Space and Defence Group (the prime contractor) already have contracts for 30 Ariane 5s to be launched by 2010. This will be the launch vehicle for the Galileo network of satellites – rivals to the American GPS system – the first of which will be in orbit by spring 2006. Hence the importance of Article I-14 of the Constitution, providing for the development of a European space policy. As the leading European country in the space industry, France will be the first to benefit from this policy, which the Union can now finance.

Combating terrorism and major crime


. 1 May. The European Agency for External Borders is inaugurated in Warsaw. Its initial role will be to facilitate exchanges of information and experience and to supervise joint border controls, but the Constitution will enable it to develop into a fully fledged European border police force.


The Constitution also paves the way, at last, for eliminating Europe’s only remaining internal borders – the red-tape frontiers currently obstructing the work of the police and courts. By providing for a European criminal record system, an agreed definition of major cross-border crime (including terrorism and trafficking in human beings, weapons and drugs) with appropriate penalties, mutual recognition of court decisions throughout Europe, the initiation of proceedings by Eurojust, and the conduct of investigations by Europol, it turns the Union into the common ‘security area’ that people across Europe have been calling for.

Immigration policy


. In May the Spanish Government legalised the status of 700 000 illegal immigrants without consulting the other EU Member States. The Constitution, however, ushers in a major change by handing responsibility for all aspects of immigration policy to the Union, with decisions to be taken by qualified majority. Each country will, of course, retain its own criteria for granting nationality and for access to the labour market but conditions of entry to the Union, and of movement and residence within it, will at last be determined and applied jointly – 12 years after the removal of internal border controls.

Cultural diversity


. 12 May. The Cannes Film Festival opens. Twelve of the films in competition were made with EU financial support (under the Media programme). Since adoption of the Television without Frontiers Directive in 1989, the French system of support for the dissemination and production of nationally made films has been accepted and, indeed, copied by other Member States, thus helping Europe to resist US cultural hegemony. And, in fact, 2004 was a record year for film production in France. The Constitution (in Article III-315) officially recognises the ‘cultural exception’ – allowing Member States to oppose any international agreement that threatens the Union’s ‘cultural and linguistic diversity’.

In all these areas the Constitution will clearly enable us to do more, better and faster.

Alain Lamassoure, 22 May 2005