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On all sides, in both the smaller and the larger countries, European and non-European alike, everyone agrees: under the leadership of Nicolas Sarkozy, a political Europe has existed for the first time on the international scene. The European Union has reached agreement on a common immigration policy. It stood up to Russia during the Georgian crisis. It was the announcement of the EU’s rescue plan, not the American one, which forestalled the collapse of global finance. Despite the crisis, the EU has become the only power to pursue an ambitious policy to fight climate change from now until 2020.

Can we maintain this momentum? I am among those who think that the Czech Republic will give us a pleasant surprise, but it is no criticism of that country to believe that, assuming that such political will exists in Prague, it does not in itself have that kind of driving force. Consequently, all Europeans are wondering whether there is life after Sarkozy for political Europe. Meanwhile, mischievous French observers are asking whether politics will be as important to Nicolas Sarkozy once the EU Council Presidency has come to an end.

It is perfectly possible that the answer in both cases is ‘Yes’. Not least because the France led by Nicolas Sarkozy will continue to play a key role in all the issues that have been raised over the past few months. Let us focus on the two major international meetings to be held next spring. As the instigator of the first G20, which it had prepared in close cooperation with Gordon Brown, France will naturally be a key participant at the next meeting in London, the first to be attended by Barack Obama. A few days later, the NATO Summit will open in Strasbourg, where the core issue under discussion will be the US response to the proposal put forward by Nicolas Sarkozy immediately following his election: France is ready to rejoin the military structure of the Alliance if the Americans finally give the go-ahead to a European defence. Lire la suite…

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For a Frenchman, to know Ireland is to love it. As a child, to me it had the unsettling charm of the indomitable Maureen O’Hara in “The Quiet Man”. As a student, I learned about the ‘fighting spirit’ on rugby fields with the Irish teams and my bedroom was decorated with some photos of John and Bob Kennedy. As a father, I named my eldest son Patrick: March 17th has become our family’s celebration day.

By chance, I first became involved in European matters when Ireland joined the Community: I will never know if the European adventure was worth it before, but to me it has always come with the sound of an Irish ballad.

Has Ireland gained from its EU membership? Only you can answer. Seen from the continent, Europe’s former poorest country is now wealthier than the UK, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, per capita. No longer does Ireland see its sons and daughters leave, it attracts its neighbours’ sons and daughters. It has made the most of the common agricultural policy, of the European regional fund, and of its membership to the euro while the British remained attached to their insular currency. The European family has accompanied and assisted each step of the long-lasting course of the peace process in Northern Ireland. Lastly, everyone knows, in Ireland and elsewhere, why the worldwide financial crisis did not have the same apocalyptic consequences in Dublin as it did in Reykjavik. Lire la suite…

Pour un Français, connaître l’Irlande, c’est l’aimer. Enfant, elle avait pour moi le charme troublant de l’indomptable Maureen O’Hara dans “The Quiet Man”. Etudiant, j’ai appris le fighting spirit sur les terrains de rugby avec les joueurs du Trèfle, et ma chambre était tapissée des photos de John et Bob Kennedy. Devenu père de famille, j’ai donné à mon fils aîné le prénom de Patrick : le 17 mars est désormais notre grande fête familiale.

Par un heureux hasard, je suis entré dans les affaires européennes lorsque l’Irlande a rejoint la Communauté : je ne saurai jamais si l’aventure européenne méritait d’être vécue avant, mais elle a toujours eu pour moi la musique de la ballade irlandaise.

L’Irlande a-t-elle gagné à sa participation à l’Union ? C’est à vous de le dire. Vu du continent, le pays qui était le plus pauvre d’Europe est désormais plus riche, par habitant, que le Royaume-Uni, la France, l’Allemagne et les pays scandinaves. L’Irlande ne voit plus émigrer ses fils, elle attire ceux de ses voisins. Elle a su mettre a profit intelligemment la politique agricole commune, la politique régionale européenne, et son appartenance à l’euro, alors que les Britanniques persistaient dans l’attachement à une monnaie insulaire. La famille européenne a accompagné et aidé chacun des pas de la longue marche du processus de paix en Irlande du Nord. Enfin, chacun sait bien, en Irlande et ailleurs, pourquoi la crise financière mondiale n’a pas eu, à Dublin, les conséquences apocalyptiques que subit Reykjavik. Lire la suite…

’Every man for himself!’ was the reaction of all the major powers of the time to the financial crisis of 1929. Each country shut itself away to protect its agriculture, its industry, its currency and its jobs. The currency war, followed by the trade war and then the industrial war, eventually led to war, pure and simple.

This time, political leaders have demonstrated a remarkable sense of calm. It may have taken the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September to realise the true extent of the crisis that had already been growing for a full year, but three weeks were all that were needed for Europeans and Americans to agree on a number of large-scale, coordinated and complementary rescue plans. Moreover, at the initiative of the European Union, on 15 November, emerging countries will be engaged in the search for lasting global solutions. This is the challenge facing the G20 meeting, which has come about as a result of the personal determination and political leadership of Nicolas Sarkozy in his capacity as President of the European Council. So, are we saved?

Closer inspection reveals that the choice between global solidarity and the ‘every man for himself’ scenario has not yet been made. It all depends on how the rescue plans will be implemented. For the drastic remedies that are required to save the global financial system have side effects which present an equal number of formidable political problems. Let us mention just two. Lire la suite…

Chacun pour soi : ce fut la réaction de toutes les grandes puissances de l’époque à la crise financière de 1929. Chacun s’enferma pour protéger son agriculture, son industrie, ses devises, ses emplois. La guerre monétaire, puis la guerre commerciale, puis la guerre industrielle finirent par déboucher sur la guerre tout court.

Cette fois, les dirigeants politiques ont fait preuve d’un sang-froid remarquable. S’il a fallu attendre la faillite de Lehman Brothers, en septembre, pour faire prendre conscience de la portée de la crise qui se propageait déjà depuis un an, trois semaines ont suffi pour qu’Européens et Américains s’entendent sur des plans de sauvetage considérables, coordonnés et complémentaires. Et, à l’initiative de l’Union européenne, les pays émergents seront associés le 15 novembre à la recherche de solutions durables à l’échelle de la planète. C’est bien l’enjeu de la réunion du G20, que l’on doit à l’acharnement personnel et à l’autorité politique de Nicolas Sarkozy en tant que Président du Conseil européen. Sommes-nous donc sauvés ?

Un regard un peu plus attentif montre que, entre la solidarité planétaire et le chacun pour soi, le choix n’est pas encore fait. Tout dépend de la manière dont les plans de sauvetage seront exécutés. Car les remèdes de cheval rendus nécessaires pour sauver le système financier mondial comportent des effets secondaires qui sont autant de problèmes politiques redoutables. N’en citons que deux. Lire la suite…