euro|topics - Will the Berlin Declaration take the EU to 2009?

Main focus of Monday, March 26, 2007

Will the Berlin Declaration take the EU to 2009?

The 50th anniversary summit in Berlin ended with the signing of the Berlin Declaration. The document makes reference to a foundation treaty rather than a new constitution and in it the EU also commits to reform by 2009. But is the reform process really gaining momentum?

The Guardian - United Kingdom

"No sooner had European leaders quaffed their glasses yesterday in celebration of half a century of unity than they were experiencing the familiar hangover about what the next five decades holds in store", comments the daily. "Ms Merkel concentrated her fire yesterday on breaking the logjam of institutional reform. She is pushing for an intergovernmental conference which would have to agree on a draft charter by December. This would be endorsed by all 27 governments in February next year. But, after a long period of reflection, everyone still wants different things: Germany, Spain and Italy hope to preserve much of the original text of the ill-fated constitution. Poland is reluctant to surrender the generous voting rights it and Spain achieved in Nice. France wants a slimmed-down core. Britain does not want a charter at all. Everyone talks about being practical, but no one has a clear vision of the future." (26/03/2007)

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany

Martin Winter writes that despite all the celebrations in Berlin, the "desired breakthrough" never arrived. However, "the painstakingly penned "Berlin Declaration" was not a total failure. "On the contrary, it is a document of great honesty. Europe has looked in the mirror and has seen what must have been a sobering sight to all those who had hoped that political fortification would follow the recent expansion. ... When it takes weeks to agree to call the euro a success in the Berlin declaration, when the model for Europe's social welfare system has to be full of clauses, when the common foreign and security policy barely gets a mention, this is a sign that Europe is in a sorry state. Of course it's a victory for Merkel that the other states have committed themselves to completing the reform process by 2009. But what reforms? Unless the Holy Spirit of sensible European policy descends to enlighten the EU's heads of state and government, there will be nothing but a mini reform just to keep business in Brussels ticking over." (26/03/2007)

Politiken - Denmark

The Danish newspaper criticises the celebrations in Berlin: "Spurred on by German Chancellor Angela Merkel the EU now wants to create a set of rules that enable a 27-member-state EU to pass resolutions as smoothly as it could with 12 or 15 members. This is the crux of the treaty that is supposed to mature into a new, simplified constitution, if possible before a new parliament and commission are elected in 2009. If this effort fails, we risk having to wait another five years for an EU that is capable of acting. The plan is to ask parliaments instead of voters, in order to avoid another fiasco. This would only exacerbate the problems with democracy which not only the EU but also the member states are facing." (26/03/2007)

La Croix - France

The editorialist François Ernenwein considers that the EU's "deficiencies will not be compensated for by the Berlin declaration, a sort of minimal contractual programme, by 2009. The incremental, step by step policy with which Europe has been built over fifty years and which previously guaranteed its success has today run out of steam. The European project is in danger of a slow death unless it switches to a far more explicit will power and an ambition that goes beyond building an enlarged zone dedicated to the free market. We need new energy. This can be found in the hopes of Europeans that are relentlessly being formulated." (26/03/2007)

Le Temps - Switzerland

"The German Chancellor, who fought hard to include a 2009 deadline for the institutional reform of the EU in the Berlin declaration, is having some difficulties with the timetable", explains Richard Werly. "As ambitious as it might be, her plan to get Europe out of the crisis generated by the 2005 rejection of the Constitution by France and The Netherlands must be put on the table in Brussels by the end of the German presidency on the 30th of June. However the new French head of state to be elected on the 6th of May will obviously avoid commitment on this subject just a few weeks after taking office. ... Angela Merkel's audacious bid aims for the second term of 2008, at which time France will preside the EU for a six month period. ... This strategy holds two risks: irritating critics of the Franco-German axis and not finding an ideal partner in whoever succeeds Jacques Chirac." (26/03/2007)

Lidové noviny - Czech Republic

According to Petr Zavadil, the Czech Republic is mainly to blame for the "uninspiring Berlin Declaration". Prague was staunchly opposed to everything: to the constitution, to anything new in the text and to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposals and her uncompromising negotiation methods. The Czechs and the Poles behaved more like the British than the British this time. Whether these playground tactics will work in the real battle remains to be seen. The real fight for the future of the EU constitution has just begun. The Union is giving itself only six months to negotiate the finer points. This means it will have to chose between meeting that deadline and a more time-consuming leap forward towards integrations." (26/03/2007)

La Stampa - Italy

The editorialist Andrea Romano deplores certain passages of the Berlin declaration, notably the part that says, "The European model combines economic success with social solidarity". "These banalities don't even feature in manifestoes of well-to-do associations. They can only serve to once again gloat over having been born in this blessed part of the globe ... . Europe has chosen the comfort of rhetoric, running the risk that the European Union might, like the Amish, close in upon itself, blissfully contemplating its luck and benefiting from its security while the motor of the community shows more and more signs of fatigue. And yet the world all around us is in need of more leadership and commitment from Europe". (26/03/2007)

» To the complete press review of Monday, March 26, 2007

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