Goodbye world, see you in a few weeks (for a proper EU dust-up)
Daniel Korski 10:25am
With plenty of domestic issues to debate, the election campaign promises to see little intrusion from the outside world - barring Russia invading a small neighbouring country, a terrorist attack or another financial meltdown.
Nor will Britain say much to the world in the next couple of weeks; ministers will be be represented at international meetings, for example in NATO, by senior officials, and Britain's diplomats have been told to keep quiet.
As soon as the election is over, however, there will be plenty of action. The Cabinet Office is busy planning a quick update of the National Security Strategy, and then will come a slightly longer Security and Defence Review. Early meetings include EU summits, a Foreign Minister's meeting in Sarajevo, the NPT Review Conference, a NATO Summit, a follow-up to the COP 15 in Mexico and even an OSCE get-together in Kazakhstan. A future Prime Minister is likely to want to travel to at least Washington, Paris, Brussels, Kabul and perhaps somewhere like New Delhi or to the Franco-African Summit - just to differ from the previous government.
A key question will be how to relate to Europe - especially if the Tories win outright or are forced to govern with the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. The Economist has an excellent leader and three-page article on Tory Europe policy - and Europe's Tory policy. (Let's forget for a moment what a Con-Lib Europe policy might look like - the mind boggles at the very idea)
Though The Economist's line is unlikely to find favour among many Coffee House commentators, it confirms what I have said before: that Europe is changing and has become more pro-market, less dirigiste, less pro-French and more Atlanticist than it used to be. Enlargement has seen to that.
It still needs reform - lots of it. But the article is a useful corrective to the nonsense spouted by so many British papers - for example about the percentage of laws produced by the EU (less than 50 percent) and how complicit European member-states are in some of the EU’s worst laws and regulations.
There are two areas I think The Economist gets badly wrong. The first is the potential willingness of a Tory government to veto Croatian EU accession as a way to get some of the opt-outs the Conservatives want.
The magazine suggests that the Tories will not go all the way. Wrong. Prime Minister Cameron will park his pro-enlargement sympathies and veto Croatia's EU future as long as it takes to get his concessions. Croatia is not Finland or Sweden and David Cameron is not John Major.
But The Economist also suggests that vetoing might work. Wrong again. For many countries a moratorium on EU enlargement is ideal; they will happily hide behind a UK veto and give a Tory government little in return. So the Tories will act - but may find it gets them nowhere.
The second mistake is on European defence. The magazine intimates that the Tories are at least persuadable on the matter of European defence co-operation - even if it takes the form of Franco-British cooperation. But as I understand it, the Tories want Franco-British cooperation instead of EU co-operation - something the Elysee Palace is said to be contemplating, but the Quai D'Orsay and the French Defence Ministry find objectionable.
Ho hum, all that is tomorrow's headache and future blogposts. For now, back to the election.
Previous
Vulture
April 7th, 2010 10:49am Report this commentDaniel:
Has anyone ever told you what a really, REALLY boring person you are if your mind-
numbing posts are anything to go by?
Normally, this would only be a problem for you. But do you have to inflict it on the rest of us at such tedious length?
Chuck Unsworth
April 7th, 2010 10:56am Report this commentA return to the proper use of Cabinet Ministers would be no bad thing. Brown (as Blair) emasculated his Cabinet by always wanting to front every bloody thing. The action of someone with no confidence or something to hide - or both.
Raffles
April 7th, 2010 11:00am Report this commentSorry, are we supposed to be impressed that the number of laws introduced by Europe is less than 50%? Oh thats ok then. Where do i sign up? Why dont you guys get it, a lot of us want a Europe of free trade full stop. We do not want 5% of laws let alone 50% to originate from the EU. Sovereignty has been fought for so many times and at such cost, its worth treasuring surely!
AndyinBrum
April 7th, 2010 11:12am Report this commentVulture, has anyone pointed out your boreish rudeness? So you don't like DK's posts, boohoo, I find them intersting because I care about what happens outside the UK as I know how much they can effect us.
Still if you don't like the writer DONT READ THE WRITING
now go back to complaining about how call me Dave isn't bigoted enough for your liking
saddleworth
April 7th, 2010 11:18am Report this commentAgree with Vulture. This is not a worth while article. Radical thinking is needed if the project is ever to have any value for us. This is merely tired old eurobabble.
Andy Carpark
April 7th, 2010 11:20am Report this comment'a follow-up to the COP 15 in Mexico and even an OSCE get-together in Kazakhstan'
Even?!? In its laborious way, this article is almost impressive. Commentariat mogadon in its purest form.
To coin a fashionable formula, there is no question to which an OSCE get-together in Kazakhstan is the answer.
Fred Blogs
April 7th, 2010 11:25am Report this commentI agree that this is all incredibly boring . I've already made up my mind who (not) to vote for. I won't read, watch, or listen to any more political bores until May 7th.
Michael
April 7th, 2010 11:37am Report this comment'Less than 50%" of Laws from the EU is still 100% too many.
Vulture
April 7th, 2010 11:48am Report this commentAndyinBrum:
I too am interested in what happens outside the UK. ( I spent six years living there).
But I don't feel the need to write about it in such a patronising, self- congratulatory style as Mr Korski.
As he's paid to write for us, I have a right to complain about his verbosity and tedium.
And as for being rude and boorish, aren't you being rude yourself? Now go back to telling us how everything in multi-culti Brum is lovely, you berk.
denis cooper
April 7th, 2010 12:09pm Report this comment"David Cameron is not John Major" - would you care to elaborate on that?
Major sold us out, and why should I hope or expect that Cameron wouldn't do the same?
They're both Tories, members of the party which took us into the "Common Market" in breach of its 1970 general election pledge, which even started to display the ring of stars on the platform at its party conferences in the late 80's, which still says that we must remain the EU at all costs, and which having made a lot of noise about opposing the Lisbon Treaty then totally capitulated on it back in November.
Surely half a century of systematic and unscrupulous Tory lies and deception is more than enough to tell anybody who's committed to our national sovereignty and democracy that they shouldn't entrust them to the Tories.
cityboozer
April 7th, 2010 12:50pm Report this commentDaniel,
"It still needs reform - lots of it."
Only if it needs to exist at all. I am far from convinced.
"the percentage of laws produced by the EU (less than 50 percent)"
Take a step back. Which countries outside the EU and its orbit would think that being able to make only a slight plurality of their own law was something to cheer about?
Cb.
Robert Eve
April 7th, 2010 2:06pm Report this commentThe only news I want to hear about the EU is that we've left it.
GHS
April 7th, 2010 2:34pm Report this commentThe German Constitution(?) Office found that the EU was responsible for 85% of all new laws in Germany. We are no differeetn, almost all new laws in the UK are because of the EU or have to bow the knee to EU law when created.
Chris
April 7th, 2010 2:46pm Report this commentSurely the main hopes lies in threatening to veto Merkel's new proposed treaty on financial regulation in the eurozone? Despite it not affecting Britain directly we could refuse to ratify in hope of gaining concessions from Lisbon (and Nice and Maastricht for that matter!). Then again I'm sure the eurocrats will find some way to rm it all through without a real treaty!
AndyinBrum
April 7th, 2010 2:48pm Report this commentBrum's fine thanks Vulture, and I stand by my coments, you began being rude, I pointed out that if you don't like his articles, don't read them, or at least come up with something more intelligent than 'Yawn, boring'.
If it was picking him up on points of his article, such as we all do when Lloyd give us his weekly eulogy to the Glorious leader after PMQ's, I'd not saying anything, but your post was just spiteful and boreish
Lizzy
April 7th, 2010 2:57pm Report this commentDaniel it's a very interesting post in many respects but I don't believe the EU to be quite as benign as you are trying to say.
People in the UK distrust it and quite rightly so. The Labour Govt has done a dreadful damage to the fabric of the nation and pushing on with the Lisbon Treaty has inflamed the people of these islands - particularly after they were promised a referendum by Brown.
Who can forget the pathetic sight of Brown shuffling in by the tradesmen's entrance to sign this treaty? He knew it was treasonous yet was so shifty he decided to do it when he hoped no-one was looking.
We were looking and we haven't forgotten. I have always been of the opinion that the EU will eventually implode under the weight of its own corruption and ambition. I am delighted to say that I think this will happen in my lifetime.
Cuffleyburgers
April 7th, 2010 3:00pm Report this commentThe economist has form in seeing the EU cup as Half Full, to the extent that I have given up on their judgements (that the constitution was dead after the dutch and french rejections for example, or after the irish).
The 50% of laws originating in Brussels is 100% too much, a point that has been made above, considering it is made by a body with no proper electoral accountability to anybody.
The democratic deficit is widening continually. The free market tendency was specifically written OUT of lisbon at the behest of nos amis les frogs. etc etc. EU-wide taxation is raising a dustcloud on the horizon.
How can you possibibly be in any doubt as to the intention and direction (and modus operandi) of the eu project? And by extension, of its inevitable future failure and break up in rancour, and hopefully not too much violence.
You, the economist and sundry others are living somewhere beyond cloud cuckoo land.
The end game is becoming clear, the only doubts can be about the timing, and how a responsible British government can contribute to bringing this forward, and limiting the damage to this country when it happens.
AndyLeeds
April 7th, 2010 6:49pm Report this commentThe EU is just a Fascist State in creation. It is time we the people had our say - as we were promised over Lisbon - but the political class, and fellow travelers in the media don't want that. All across Europe the people are gradually turning against this stupid project. It is time we took the bull by the horns and demanded reforms or leave. I vote lets leave.
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