FT Home > Comment & analysis > Columnists
Europe in 2008: Asia can drive its global aims
By John Thornhill
Published: January 2 2008 19:29 | Last updated: January 2 2008 19:29
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0
The senior Chinese official did his best to be polite. When, at a recent conference on Europe and Asia, I asked him how the Chinese viewed Europe, he chewed thoughtfully on a canapé before replying: “Europe needs to rediscover its entrepreneurial spirit.”
Many of his compatriots are more openly contemptuous, at least judging from a study by Chatham House and the Robert Schuman Foundation, reflecting the views of Chinese policymakers. Europe is more of an edifice of the past than the future, said one Chinese commentator. “Europe appears defensive, introspective, decadent and tired, too prosperous to continue to take risks, too complacent to accept change; Europe is a continent that has lost its ambition and its place in the world.”
The Indians are even more scathing. A similar study in 2006 found that Indian commentators considered Europe to be in economic decline, “too small, divided and anchored in the past” to flourish in the future. Many also saw Europe as racist and protectionist, and its claims to be a “soft power” laughable. Their views seemed to echo Mahatma Gandhi’s quip when asked what he thought about European civilisation. “I think it would be a good idea,” he replied.
For the moment, at least, history appears to be marching to an Asian drumbeat. Europe, which has for so long been happy to do the globalising, now fears it is being globalised against. Or, as E douard Balladur, the former French prime minister and author of a recent essay, puts it: “History is beginning to be made without the west. Maybe one day it will be made against the west.”
Yet it is Asia’s very resurgence that is providing the most intense pressure for further economic restructuring and political integration in Europe. For 50 years, the European project has been driven by an internal imperative: to break down barriers and consolidate peace. But most younger Europeans have ingested prosperity and political stability with their mothers’ milk. External forces may now prove far more powerful in binding Europe’s nation states.
Francis Mer, a member of the Foundation for Political Innovation, a Paris-based think-tank, says that even Europe’s biggest countries will soon count for little in this fast-evolving world. However, collectively, the European Union still carries enormous clout as the world’s biggest economy, trading bloc and aid donor. But how should that latent power be exercised?
Mr Mer suggests the EU should focus on new priorities, such as energy and the environment, and think about Europe in a global context. A more coherent foreign policy towards Africa, the Middle East and Russia could result.
To be sure, Europe is only likely to matter to China and India to the extent that it can rediscover its entrepreneurial spirit, reinvigorate its economy and speak with one voice in the world. Commentators in both countries seem astonished by the success of the euro (even though they consider it desirable for Britain to join). Moreover, Brussels is fast emerging as one of the most important regulatory centres – whether it concerns competition policy, product safety requirements or environmental standards.
If, as is probable, the EU’s 27 member states ratify the Lisbon treaty this year, the organisation will at last create the institutional infrastructure to develop a more coherent foreign policy. Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, is also determined to strengthen the EU’s security capabilities when his country holds the EU’s rotating presidency in the second half of 2008.
Bates Gill, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, expects that the EU’s approach towards countries such as China will become tougher, more closely resembling US policy, amid complaints about China’s unfair trade practices and the artificial suppression of its exchange rate. “Reality is dawning. Some of the romantic myths and over-expectations that characterised Europe’s approach to China have changed,” he says.
Of course, the evolution of EU policy is not a given. Voters still look to national politicians to protect them from globalisation. The siren cries of nationalism and protectionism are strong. Still, there is a good chance that the EU will this year take more baby steps towards becoming a global power. They may even notice in Beijing and New Delhi.
No comments:
Post a Comment