You could say that pragmatism won out at today’s Global Vision / Daily Telegraph conference on the future relationship between Britain and Europe. On the one hand, you had the pro-Europe voice of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing arguing that Britain should more or less be able to pick ‘n’ mix what parts of the EU agenda it subscribes to. And, on the other, you had a largely (moderate?) Eurosceptic panel arguing that – well – Britain should more or less be able to pick ‘n’ mix what parts of the EU agenda it subscribes to.
Of course, there were differences of emphasis. Giscard d’Estaing thought that Britain’s “special status” should be enshrined in a power to “opt out” of future treaties. Whereas – I suspect – many on the panel would prefer Britain to opt out of some existing treaties too. But the willingness of both sides to sit and dine at the same table was still remarkable enough.
One can’t help but view it through the prism of the Irish ‘No’ vote. Whilst the Lisbon Treaty endures (wrongfully, in my view), have the Irish forced Brussels to give more thought to allowing countries a more flexible relationship with Europe? Thanks to Ireland, is a looser relationship between Britain and Europe now more possible than ever? Giscard d’Estaing – with his talk of the need for a “new relationship” in the “aftermath of the Irish referendum” – certainly suggested so.
If, then, a looser relationship with Europe has gained political traction, would a Tory government act on it? I wouldn’t bet on it. The Telegraph‘s Iain Martin – who was on the panel – recounted a conversation he’d had on the matter with “someone very close to Cameron”. Their view? That forging ahead with a looser relationship “sounds like one for a second term”. And as Iain pointed out, that’s politics-speak for “Forget it, sunshine”.
P.S. Daniel Hannan and John Redwood were also at the event. Read their blog posts on it here and here, respectively.
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