The wind has changed direction. To devote the first comment of the new year to an assessment of the previous year is an almost compulsory ceremony which I do not intend evading, even though there are no surprises for readers having had the patience to follow this section on quite a regular basis. No surprises, as I shall not recant. Since the spring I've been repeating that criticisms levelled at Europe had exceeded reasonable limits, especially when the systematic denigration extended to the action and goals of the "Fathers of Europe". True, in half a century, many shortcomings and deviations have appeared, and that Europe has been seized by the "wasting disease" that has long slowed down its impetus, tarnished imaginations and discouraged public opinion; but these observations must not tinge the objectives and principles, nor place back into question the usefulness and merits of the European adventure itself.
Fortunately, the wind has changed direction. Reaction against fashionable pessimism and against systematic denigration of European construction is no longer by an isolated commentator but is gaining ground, and the success of the euro enhances this tendency. The re-balance in the assessment of European reality has been gradual; but if I had to choose one symbolic moment, I would cite Tony Blair's speech in Birmingham, who managed to summarise in a few sentences, for the attention of his compatriots, who have suffered more than most from a biased presentation of the reality, by a large part of the national press, the ambitions and results of the European enterprise: "It worked in making friends out of old enemies (…) to make war not merely unthinkable but materially impossible (…) It worked by making them richer. It worked by making them a force to be reckoned with in the world. The history of our engagement with Europe is one of opportunities missed in the name of illusion (…) If this dismal history teaches us one clear lesson, it is this: the EU has succeeded and will succeed".
Added soul. Tony Blair's flamboyant speech was followed by other significant stances, including in the British press. The very serious "Economist" defined as nonsense the claim by which the EU was losing its momentum to progress, and, having cited the arrival of the euro, enlargement, the military intervention force and the common area of freedom, security and justice, it concludes "and this is stagnation?". The EU's role in rescuing the Kyoto Protocol was unanimously recognised throughout the world. Following a particularly unfair and snide attack against the action of Pascal Lamy in favour of a new round of international trade negotiations, the Director of the WTO, Mike Moore (New Zealander, which is significant) wrote: "It was Mr. Lamy who led the battle for market access for least developed countries. Commissioner Lamy's role in brokering the waiver for ACP countries on preferential access to the EU market was widely acclaimed and the first ministers speaking in favour of the deal were from Africa. It was Mr. Lamy who fought for and won advantages on trade an the environment, public access to medicines and trade-related intellectual property rights agreement. "
This statement by Mr. Moore leads me directly to the heart of the subject. The broadly positive assessment of European year 2001 is not only based on results we have under our nose, sometimes spectacular like the arrival of the euro, or turning to the future like the Lisbon and Stockholm strategies; it also refers to the "added soul" that the EU has gradually introduced in its policies. Yes to globalisation, on condition that it is controlled and tempered by environmental and social considerations; yes to trade liberalisation, on condition of specifically opening up markets to developing countries; yes to accession of new members and the establishment of links with all the countries of the world, on condition that they respect freedom, the Rule of Law and individual rights; and so forth. The results are still but partial, true, but the directions are increasingly firmer. From several points of view, Europe has taken the lead in efforts aimed at introducing certain ethical policies even in politics and in the economy. The reasonable and justified demands of protestors and NGOs of good faith find in European stances much more than a simple echo: they often represent the EU's official stance, even though this merit is rarely recognised by those preferring facile popularity and personal visibility to effectiveness. And its not by chance that the latest Eurobarometer indicates a renewed confidence in public opinion for the EU's action, and confirms a clear request for "more Europe" on the part of citizens, and a certain optimism in the future. The Laeken Declaration opened the process that will lead to the renewal of Europe: new goals, new ambitions, new working methods. (F.R.).