Main focus of Thursday, November 9, 2006

Enlargement and European identity

What is the EU's strategy regarding its future, commentators ask following the publishing of its new strategy paper on enlargement. Among other things, the dispute with Turkey has once again raised the question of what defines Europe: geography or ideals?

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger - Germany

The renowned German philosopher Jürgen Habermas has complained in a speech about the faltering process of European integration. He points out the following to those who claim there can never be a United States of Europe: "The real question is whether it is possible to extend solidarity among the citizens of Europe beyond the borders of its individual states. The quicker the thick mesh of national culture within the individual states becomes more receptive to citizens with different ethnic or religious backgrounds, the easier it will be to establish a common European identity. Integration is not a one-way street; when it is successful it revitalises strong national cultures in such a way that they become more porous, receptive and sensitive to influences from within and from without at the same time. For example, the more we Germans come to take for granted our coexistence with citizens of Turkish origin, the better we will be able to identify with the position of other European citizens like the winegrowers from Portugal or the plumber from Poland. When closed cultures open up from within they become more receptive to other cultures." (08/11/2006)

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Neue Zürcher Zeitung - Switzerland

Reinhold Gemperle asserts that not only Turkey is to blame for the current impasse in its accession talks with the EU: "The EU has failed to develop a convincing, well-coordinated strategy for enlargement. This is why it was perceived as the driven rather than the driving force behind the 'eastward expansion' two years ago. The case of Cyprus illustrates this perfectly... The EU has never clarified which countries belong to Europe and are therefore potential candidates for EU membership. Is the term 'European' a geographical concept or is it to be understood as an expression of common values? If the former applies, accession talks with Turkey would probably never have begun in the first place." (09/11/2006)

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Der Standard - Austria

Michael Moravec describes the strategy paper presented by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn on Wednesday as unclear and inconsistent: "Should we now conclude that the new membership strategy, which was mainly forged as a response to Turkey's extremely controversial bid for EU membership, does not apply to Turkey? Will it only apply for Ukraine or Morocco? The Commission's strategy paper doesn't outline a strategy; it's just a summary of the different views of the member states. It's completely open to interpretation: Germany, France and Austria can insist that the EU's ability to cope with a new member must be taken into account, and Great Britain, Poland, Ireland and Spain will stress those passages which 'simply' require Turkey to fulfil the accession criteria." (09/11/2006)

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Le Soir - Belgium

Philippe Regnier considers that the EU has sent out a warning to future EU candidates. "Negotiations will be stricter. It is a wake-up call for contenders. The Commission has also added that no further accession is conceivable in the short-term. In any case, the entrance of a new member 'should' not happen without an agreement on the reform of institutions (desired by the Constitution), in order to maintain the capacity for decision making. Those most optimistic envisage an agreement at the end of 2008, that would then have to wait two more years before being applied. Let us remember that Croatia dreamed of entering the EU in 2008 ... The Commission is still using the conditional to subordinate enlargement to a new Treaty, although the President Barroso expressly linked the two. This is a means of encouraging defenders of enlargement (London, for example) to accept further European integration (Mistrusted by... London)". (09/11/2006)

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