Seminario “Defensa Europea”
El pasado día 30 de octubre se celebró el 6º seminario BlogEuropa.eu, dentro del programa
“Hablamos de Europa”patrocinado por el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores sobre “Defensa Europea” impartido por el Almirante Jose Antonio Balbás y con comentarios del Marqués de Tamarón, Embajador de España.
El Almirante Balbás comenzó su exposición haciendo un análisis histórico de la Unión Europea y de los conflictos armados que ha sufrido Europa desde el siglo XIX, centrándose en las Guerras Mundiales y la creación de la ONU.
En esta época se produce el surgimiento de un enemigo común la URSS, lo que provoca la creación de la OTAN y la creación de la organización militar contrapuesta: el Pacto de Varsovia. Así, en Europa se acepta la OTAN para la defensa militar y, se crea CE, por el Tratado de Roma, para el desarrollo económico. A finales de los ochenta, la caída del Muro de Berlín, la disolución del Pacto de Varsovia y la secesión de Rusia, cambia radicalmente el panorama estratégico. Ya no existe la URSS como enemigo común. Es, por otra parte, una época contradictoria en Europa: por un lado, hay más democracia, pero también hay más separatismo, hay más integración de la UE pero más nacionalismo, hay menos miedo pero más crisis. (more…)
My take on the Lisbon Treaty
José M. de Areilza
November 21, 2007
A few days ago I was asked to make a presentation on the new Lisbon Treaty. The main question I tried to answer was: “What will the new EU be like under the Treaty of Lisbon?”.
As I prepared my lecture, I was reminded of a friend who claims that he has never met a pesimist who was wrong. My main conclusion is that with the death of the European Constitution we have damaged the Community “material” constitution, in fact it is quite interesting that both the terms “Constitution and “Community” have been expelled out of the European Union system by the Lisbon Treaty.
You will find attached my presentation (in Spanish only, for the time being) and I look forward to your comments!
La nueva Presidencia del Consejo Europeo
Marie-José Garot
5 de Noviembre, 2007
Hace poco Simone Brunse y Kalypso Nicolaidis del Centro de Estudios Europeos del St Antony’s College (Oxford) organizaron un seminario sobre las oportunidades y los riesgos de la nueva Presidencia permanente del Consejo Europeo, tal y como resulta del Tratado de Lisboa.
Fueron dos días de un intenso trabajo, durante los cuales se abordaron todas las cuestiones que giran alrededor de esta novedad institucional (eficacia, legitimidad y democracia, visibilidad).
En la clausura del seminario, se entregaron al Presidente de la Comisión Europea las conclusiones adjuntas que os invito a leer.
Treaty of Lisbon: “jamais vu”
José M. de Areilza
November 3, 2007
This week I have had the chance to take part and follow the first debates on the new Lisbon Treaty. Instead of the feeling of “deja vu” that one sometimes get when discussing EU institutional reform -the same topics on the table, easy to predict sub-optimal solutions- I had a different sensation, a feeling I would call of “jamais vu”: Lisbon is one of the lowest points in European integration, in terms of living up to ideals and the demands of democratic process and political debate. The only way to justify the method and form of the new reform is by embracing pragmatism so much that one borders becoming cynical. It is a cheap “Machiavellian moment” instead of the Tocqueville moment we were suposse to be living some years ago. Of course, political correct views point out that Machiavellian moments eventually let you move towards Tocquevillian moments and less correct views wisper that in reality all Tocquevillian moments are very much Machiavellian, for instance the elitist Convention.
But its still cheap Machiavelli to me: EU leaders agreeing to avoid referendums and negotiate by fast track based on an obscure mandate in three months a reformed EU Treaty, that is substantially equivalent to the failed Constitution -texts that smell Constitution please use the back door-, withouth the name, symbols, constitutional language and who knows if constitutional character -so much for the existing EU material Constitution! Plus, leaders not wanting to publish a consolidated version of the new Treaty until it is ratified, European citizens should not waste their time reading the new rules of the game, written in non-sensical Dada fashion. A technocratic fuite en avant we do not deserve, that mandarins can only explain through chilidish metaphors like that of a ship wreckage (the French and Dutch nos) and the European leaders heroically saving the passengeres and the cargo.
The content of the new Treaty does not justify anything. Some of the new rules improve policy-making, but others will not necessarily (let’s discuss the new Charter of Human Rights). In any case, policy improvements do not justify the total departure from the rethoric of bringing citizens and institutions closer. Pragmatism, we Europeans should know it by now, needs real limits in order to be acceptable.
Luckily, I finished this depressing week by going to a fantastic European movie I very much recommend, called “Once”, a great story that involves Irish and Czech musicians, with classical overtones. It helped me recuperate from too much “jamais vu”.