Magazine / History / European Identity / Background | 22/03/2007

50 years Treaties of Rome, by Ludger Kühnhardt

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The EU in the midst of recreating itself

The past 50 years of European integration have witnessed larger and smaller crises but actually no real integration crisis which would have jeopardised the Union's very existence. The loss of trust in the integration process by people usually has had to do with specific constellations, integration-related circumstances, global relations and their impact on Europe, and the behaviour and actions of certain political actors. Nevertheless, the solemn justification of the existence and continuation of the European integration process, which, in its current sense has been taking place since 1957, is no longer timely. Rather, its own success has made it obsolete. Nowadays, there is hardly any need to explain that and why the European Union is a peace-building process and that peace in Europe could be at stake in the long run if the Union ceases to exist. European integration started and succeeded as a way to reconcile the people of Europe. In the light of the largely complete reunification of Europe, this process has – to quote Hegel – "come to itself” to a large extent. Parts of South Eastern Europe still have some integration work to do, including some reconciliation issues to deal with, but in most other parts of the EU this process has largely been successfully completed.

That does not mean that the importance of the EU is irrelevant. Issues of the EU's global presence pose a new great challenge in terms of the justification of European integration. The other field of action concerning the continuation of the EU regards the issue of European identity and the new assessment of the relations between EU citizens and the political elite in the EU. Europe's role in the era of globalisation defines an ever greater share in the fields of action the EU engages in – from foreign trade policy to its security and defence policy to issues of migrations and demography. One of the central tasks the EU has to deal with today in a rapidly changing world is to further develop the grounds for the existence and continuation of the integration process. To this end, the EU has to act convincingly. Many observers and actors have a hard time with that. The objectives under which the process of European integration continues in the 21st century are still unclear in many ways because almost two decades after the end of the Cold War the new world order is still largely characterised by transformation rather than having a new focus. What is certain though is that the European Union is a growing new actor shaping the order of the world – optimists claim that this process has already been completed. The European Union has come to stand for stability as a core of Western civilisation with universal appeal in the light of unrest regarding the future of democracy, developments, and peace in the Arabic world and Africa as well as against the background of China and India increasingly coming to the forefront as global actors. It is also clear that the European Union can only fulfil its global role if EU citizens accept it as their union – a union that guarantees them law and order, security, and prosperity.

European integration has fundamentally transformed Europe's relationship with the rest of the world.[1] The EU is the world's most generous donor of development aid. It actively promotes regional integration in other parts of the world. It supports 17 peace-keeping or police operations around the globe. Besides the U.S., it is the most important actor in world trade and together with the U.S. the most important factor in managing important global issues. All of this was inconceivable on 25 March 1957 – something which might happen in the far future. The ceremonial signing of the Treaties of Rome on 25 March 1957 was not without controversy in the six founding member-states of the new Europe: a fact which remained true with regard to many resolutions and processes of the European Economic Community and which also applies to today's European Union in its struggle to give itself a political constitution and a global role to play in the world. The negotiation process in the winter of 1956 and 1957, resulting in the Treaties of Rome, was of rather minor importance to the wider European public which hardly knew about it,[2] but it formed no less than the foundations of a new Europe.

As the last speaker during the signing ceremony of the Treaties of Rome on 25 March 1957, Joseph Bech, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign Affairs, put that moment in a larger historical perspective. He said that it would take a long time to finish building Europe but a rightful and promising beginning had been made. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome on 25 March 2007, we can take stock: Europe has been created. Now the citizens of the EU must assure themselves of their fundamental values and assume responsibility in the world.

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