Editor's note

The only person who slipped from the “grilling” procedure in the European Parliament was, actually, the one supposed to play the most important role in the perspective implementation of the European idea. The idea, which according to the first para in the preamble to one of the Treaty of Lisbon’s parts – Treaty on the functioning of the European Union - appeared to be difficult in implementation as the EU member states move into the second decade of the XXI century. The idea is called the “ever closer union among the peoples of Europe” and the person in question is Herman Van Rompuy, the European Union’s first full-time president, who started his job in the beginning of this January.

Mr. Rompuy checked whether the “closer union” actually exists by visiting 15 heads of the EU states already last December, just after being nominated for the post. Even during these year’ first weeks he visited  Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, German politicians at the conservative Bavarian CSU party, participated at Spain’s EU presidency ceremonies and expects to visit Greece, Malta, Sweden and other EU countries before the mid-February first EU’s economic summit within Treaty of Lisbon framework.

Numerous trips aimed at careful preparation of the economic policy summit in order to consolidate trust in the disputed “EU-2020” next decade’s strategy. Nevertheless, is it easies and more efficient for one person to “make private deals” with the EU-27 leaders before the summit or openly discuss the burning issues at the summit itself? Isn’t it enough that the EU permanent president has had already “a deal” with the “rotating EU president”, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s premier before the Christmas? And why not to rely on the COREPER bureaucrats?

The idea and the obstacles

Probably, there are two main obstacles in the European idea’s implementation. First, the treaty’s closer union, while accepted by theEU-27 in principle, needs particular agreements as to the sectors and the ways the integration and coordination will proceed. This obstacle is going to be resolved while implementing the division of competence’s principles forming the background of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Second, is much more complicated; it is about Europe’s social model (with generously supported welfare system in numerous countries) and the region’s developmental perspectives. The latter is quite deeming with low technological investments, high unemployment, troubled immigration, demographic stagnation and lack of natural resources. On top of it, lies national drive for protectionism, which is becoming even more popular at a time of economic crisis.   

The immediate task is to make deliberate actions for EU-27 to increase GDP growth at a rate of at least 2 per cent, which seems highly doubtful.

The general mood in the EU is towards modernisation and greater unity, as the preamble suggested. However, global challenges are even greater.

Some say that the European Union administration is marred by elitism; fear enough, the European idea has been always based on cooperation among the participating member states. However, participants explored their own states’ political and, mostly economic, vision in such cooperation, which is only natural. Besides, a number of “big players” in Europe representing either economic powers or powerful personalities, or both always dominated in such cooperation. Moreover, it seems that such a mode of “domestic calculations” in the European idea would go on regardless of whether this idea with “confederal or federal hopes” is embodied in the letters and sprit of any present or forthcoming treaties.