Soon we will be commemorating a vital milestone in the history of the European Union. On May 9, 1951, then French foreign minister Robert Schuman floated the idea of setting up the European Coal and Steel Community that many consider as the first step in creating what today is the EU.
What started as a treaty between six countries to regulate their industrial production under a centralised authority is now an international organisation based on principles of supranationalism. The debate on whether this European project has been successful seems to have no end. Reading the British tabloid media and listening to the haranguing of many populist parties of the right and the left in Europe, one is justified in wondering how the EU still exists.
How often have we read that the European project is in deep trouble? Currently, the European Commission has shown signs of gross incompetence in the handling of the pandemic. It made things even worse when it turned a commercial dispute with a drug manufacturing company into a political minefield when it prohibited the export of EU-produced vaccines to the UK.
Another example of botched governance was the way the EU handled the financial crisis of 2008. The banking system may have been made more robust due to the austerity promoted by Brussels and Frankfurt. Still, it hurt economic growth in Europe that remains a laggard in wealth creation compared with the US.
But there is another side to the EU’s performance, especially when compared with two other political unions – the US and the UK. A few weeks ago, we saw live pictures of US extremists attacking the holy of holies of Western democracy – the US Congress building in Washington. While Europe has its share of deranged politicians and political hooligans, so far, law and order have generally prevailed even if many EU citizens are increasingly disgruntled with their politicians.
The EU may be a marriage of convenience. But most Europeans prefer this to living in a fragmented, litigious neighbourhood
The sectarian troubles in Northern Ireland and the sleaze that is currently engulfing Scotland’s political class do not augur well for the UK’s future. The possibility that Northern Ireland may be united with the Republic and the secession of Scotland from the UK is not as remote today as it may have been a decade ago.
Scepticism about the EU’s long-term future is persistent but some realities make the threat of an existential crisis less likely. The EU has a hybrid nature. In some ways, it has the characteristics of a state, including a single currency, a parliament, an independent central bank and a supreme court. In many other areas, member states have complete autonomy in managing their economy, taxation, education and health systems.
Eurosceptic politicians, including populist politicians like French Marine Le Pen and Italian Matteo Salvini, consider this an unnatural concept to promote good governance. The reality is that most ordinary Europeans have more trust in the EU supranational governance system than their local politicians.
European populist politicians are beginning to realise that the public mood is not so much against EU membership as the incompetence, sleaze and weak leadership that seems to afflict national politics in Western democracies.
The EU has also helped to make Europe a more socially fair continent. Free health, free education and adequate social security are still superior to those that US citizens enjoy. The big challenge for the EU remains its sluggish economic growth caused by never-ending procrastination to undertake major structural reforms in some of the larger member states.
The UK might eventually be successful in making life after Brexit successful. But it is unlikely that even the grumpiest member states like Poland and Hungary will ever want to leave the EU as the UK did. The lure of massive EU funds and access to a large single market would outweigh concerns about Brussels’ interference in their rule of law management and enforcement.
Opinion polls surprisingly indicate that young people are more pro-EU than older voters. The geopolitical environment also boosts the case for a stronger EU as China and Russia look more threatening. The US is still not quite solidly re-established in the Western alliances.
After 70 years, the European project is far from being complete. The EU still has structural weaknesses that it needs to address. A single member state’s right to veto essential reform initiatives is arguably the most urgent issue that needs to be resolved.
The EU may be a marriage of convenience. But most Europeans prefer this to living in a fragmented, litigious neighbourhood.