Tony Blair, the EU President no-one really wants?
Now that the dust has settled on the massive Irish 'Yes' vote in the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, the question of who would eventually become the new President of the European Union has remerged.
Tony Blair, the former UK Labour Prime Minister, is the favourite for this post, which would be created when the Lisbon Treaty comes into action after being ratified by all 27 Member States. Now that Ireland gave their consent, Poland has indicated it too will sign soon, leaving the Czech Republic the only country yet to ratify.
Its perhaps most significant action would be to create the post of EU President to replace the rolling six-month presidency that is in operation at the moment (currently Sweden, Spain will assume control on January 1 2010). This would allow the EU to have a fixed figurehead on the world stage, which it believes will give it much more weight in international relations.
It was The Times last week that reported French President Nicolas Sarkozy as saying he believed Blair is the best man for the job and that German opposition from Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to have softened.
Asked if Blair was the only real candidate, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is quoted as replying: "For the moment, indeed." While the opinions of attitude of France and Germany are crucial to any decision, the future president will have be elected by all 27 EU leaders.
But here is the interesting bit, Blair, who appears to be disliked by all political parties in the Parliament, especially by his supposed allies on the left, and many of the national leaders for the UK's terrible decision to engage in war with Iraq amongst other things, may end up being elected because of the lack of another suitable candidate!
[Imagine how Gordon Brown would feel should his former boss, who he finally displaced, became his 'boss' again...]
Because of the arrangements to share posts between the two most represented political groups in the Parliament, the future president will be either a social democrat or a conservative, and while a few other candidates have emerged (for example former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, and former prime minister of Spain, Felipe Gonzalez) you can hardly say they have the international clout that Blair possesses. The same is true of the potential conservative candidates Jean-Claude Juncker, the current Prime Minister of Luxembourg, and Jan Peter Balkenende, his Dutch equivalent.
Renowned blogger Jean Quatremer (fr) says that such international status will raise the EU to an equal footing on the world stage with the other big players, such as the USA. But symbolically, how would we all feel with a Brit holding the most powerful post in Europe?
For me, this feels rather uncomfortable considering how disengaged and unenthusiastic we have become to engage with the rest of Europe and participate fully in the European Union.
If Blair's appointment would be a catalyst for the UK to integrate further with the EU, i.e. declare the five economic tests passed and adopt the Euro and become a full member of the Schengen area for starters, then I would be very enthusiastic about the appointment.
But I don't think it will be, even more so with the ominous threat of a Conservative Government with anti-EU David Cameron at its head. At the party's conference, Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague reaffirmed the desire once in power for a referendum of our own, and consult the public on whether we still want to be part of the EU. Naturally, this would be a catastrophic step and one which I hope will be avoided, but with Blair potentially at the helm of the European ship, you get the feeling it might make the Conservatives even more hostile and more willing to jump ship.
The role of President should be awarded to one of the founding countries, or at least to a country that over the years have proved that it is fully committed to the European cause.
So that would certainly rule out the UK then. But just what is the alternative now?
Labels: Comment, Current Affairs, EU, Politics
.jpg)
Subscribe to this blog's feed
Couple of points relating to your post, on what is an intriguing situation that is unfolding. Firstly in terms of British membership, I think your (somewhat worryingly for anyone who is not anti-EU) spot on about the potential detrimental effects a Blair presidency may have. Although I would think public opinion has softened towards Blair since the high point of his unpopularity before he stood down, the potential for him to provide a powerful new source of ammunition for Eurosceptics to reject EU membership with is worrying, you can imagine the kind of headlines tabloids such as the Express and Mail would run with.
However I’d dispute your point about how appropriate it is to have a British citizen holding the Presidential post. Surely this position should be the result of who is the best candidate for the job, and while Mr Blair can draw many criticisms for various issues, I think his nationality should be left out of it. The modern European Union, while grounded in a history that dates back to the European Coal and Steel Community, should act like a modern political entity. I think if the role of President is given to a candidate on the basis that he/she is from one of the founding states, or those ‘fully committed’, it sends the wrong message about the EU. Although obviously there is a level of politics involved in the nationality of a President, primarily they should be judged on their personal qualities, as they are not representing their states public opinion necessarily when in the post.
Posted by
Mark Hughes |
October 08, 2009 7:30 PM
If we judge the candidates primarily on their personal qualities then yes, Blair does stand an extremely good chance. But there are a lot of grumbling here, both public in the chamber and private, about an Englishman as EU president, especially as the key roles and heads of committees are levied between the most represented nations...
One thing is for sure, it definitely is an intriguing situation that is unfolding.
Posted by
Andrew |
October 09, 2009 12:20 PM