They all want eurozone to work. The EU should consider the international concern currently being shown for the difficult times the euro is experiencing as something positive. Since the beginning of the week, this column has emphasised that the whole world now knows to how important it is for everyone that the EU functions appropriately and that the euro pulls through. They need Europe and they acknowledge this. Emerging countries that go under the BRICS acronym (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - which were specifically discussed in two previous editorials) recognise this in the positions that they have taken, even if these positions are not always put into practice.
Brazil. In this context, Brazil is a particular case in point. I'm not referring to Brazil as a member of Mercosur, but as an individual country. Readers of this column will be aware that I have never believed in the overall EU-Mercosur free trade project. It is an artificial entity that could possibly be significant in principle as an emblem of unity and solidarity in South America, but does not have any real identity in the world at large. Mercosur continues its pretence of negotiating a mythical free trade zone with the EU, when in fact customs barriers still exist between Mercosur members themselves who join or leave the bloc according to what specific circumstances they find themselves in at the time. Let's forget about all the rhetoric, which obviously has a number of supporters even in the European Commission and European Parliament because they continue pretending to believe in this comprehensive free trade zone. What is serious are the prospects for cooperation between the EU and Brazil, covering the political, institutional and business fields. This double aspect moreover characterises the high level meeting that will take place on 4 October in Brussels: the “EU-Brazil Business Summit”. This will be the fifth meeting of this kind and will enable professional organisations from the two parties to exchange views on different areas of cooperation (energy, climate change, investment, innovation, trade and financial services). It will be followed by the Political Summit in which participants will include the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and the presidents of the European Council and Commission, Herman Van Rompuy and José Manuel Barroso. The prospects for bilateral cooperation are real.
Political support - no more, no less. Apart from declarations of principle (such as that made on 30 September on the possibility of the BRICS countries purchasing eurozone “Treasury bonds”), there should not be any expectations of operational action being taken by the BRICS as a whole. China is the only country to have taken concrete action in this sense - it even has capital invested in Greek port infrastructure. South Africa has indicated that it does not have the monetary reserves to enable it to intervene and it is negotiating relations with the EU on its own. Russia has said that it is possibly interested in purchasing bonds from Europe and member states that have a “Triple A” rating, preferably German bonds, but this is not all that useful. Both parties consider EU-Russia relations as essential but the conclusion of the new partnership and cooperation agreement is still encountering a number of difficulties in areas such as energy, Russia's accession to the WTO and freedom of the press. Brazil has indicated its readiness to participate in further International Monetary Fund (IMF) operations rather than in the direct purchase of eurozone treasury bonds.
It is clear that support from the BRICS for the euro is more of a political gesture than a willingness to engage in operational intervention. This is important because it confirms that the world needs the EU in general and the eurozone in particular, if they are to overcome their own problems.
Turkish watershed. The real watershed can really be seen in the fact that a new country is now mature enough to be considered a member of the BRICS - Turkey! This country now asserts itself at international level and has become an essential factor in the transformation of the Mediterranean zone. It has just taken a number of firm, not to say conflictual, positions, with regard to a member of the EU (Cyprus). Turkey maintains its EU candidacy for appearance sake only but Abdullah Gül, the country's president, has just declared: “We will not agree to being a member of the EU if the people of a single European country is against this.” Now, it is well-known that there are many member states opposed to Turkey's accession; Mr Sarkozy has openly declared his opposition. Turkey has not formally withdrawn its request for accession because it intends to carefully negotiate an alternative regime (which poses a number of considerable economic and technical problems) but its behaviour clearly indicates its wish to play an autonomous global role, which its position and development fully justify. Turkey has its theoretical place among the BRICS and is no longer a genuine candidate for EU accession. This column will be returning to this issue.
(FR/transl.fl)