The events which have shaken Europe, in some cases dramatically and painfully, have given rise to so many reactions in public opinion, the political world and among commentators and observers that an additional comment won't add anything useful. I will limit myself, therefore, to a few comments from a European point of view.
The Basque people are horrified. On the terrorist actions which hit Madrid, it is almost with relief (inasmuch as the word can be used in such a context) that I saw the Basque people reject suspicions that they had been involved. Even the separatists reacted with horror to this form of terrorism, which has caused disbelief and disgust (those nuts and bolts mixed in with the explosive, to lacerate and tear the flesh of as many human bodies, especially children, as possible!). Last century, Europe lived through monstrous ideologies and appalling acts of violence; but the whole business of European unification, with the commitments and obligations this implies, aims to make such segregation impossible. Those responsible for these acts should not be attached specifically to any one religion or race; but their hatred for our civilisation, for what Europe represents, its culture and its soul, can no longer be hidden behind speeches of appeasement. Of course, we must not forget that the hatred of terrorists has the same impact on Muslims who reject this ignoble madness, and that they have made as many victims in their own countries as they have in Europe.
More is being asked of Europe. Public opinion, the Community institutions and governments have all recognised, in the face of horror, the need to reinforce European co-operation. What we need is more Europe. It's entirely possible that this awareness may reinforce the "feeling of urgency" for the Constitution to be approved (see this column of 12 March). Spain has already expressed its intentions of changing its position on the main institutional stumbling block (see page 4 of this bulletin).
Second-class Europeans? The matter of the restrictions the Member States will continue to apply, after 1 May, to the free movement of workers from central and eastern Europe continues to make waves, and certain reactions lead me to add a couple of sentences to what I wrote in this column on 9 March. Comments in the Polish press are excessive and unfair, when they accuse the countries of the current EU of seeing the nationals of the new Member States as "second-class Europeans". This is not at all the case, and I feel I can say so with as much serenity as that with which I listed (in the aforementioned commentary) the advantages that the new citizens of the EU will bring to Europe as a whole. But some governments have felt the need to react to the concerns of public opinion, faced with the (unjustified) fear of a mass influx of immigrants. They have adopted temporary measures, in the same way that the Polish government asked for (and was granted) a transition period of twelve years, during which the purchase of agricultural land or second homes in Poland by EU citizens will be subject to restrictions. There, the Polish government was responding to a concern of public opinion, and nobody accused it of seeing the citizens of other Member States as invaders. We must bear in mind that: a) when they joined, the Spanish and the Portuguese were subjected to much more restrictive rules; b) the free movement of persons is not limited, but access to paid employment is (accompanied by a ban on introducing new restrictions); c) in May 2009, all restrictions will be removed (the Commission may permit an exceptional extension of 2 years), and the citizens of the new Member States will also benefit from the new provisions on residence permits which the EU has just adopted for its current citizens (see our bulletin of 11 March, page 13).
I would like to add a personal double opinion: a) there won't be a large number of immigration applications from the new Member States, which will be more concerned about the risk of a "brain drain", or the exodus of indispensable professionals (like doctors); b) In all likelihood, full free movement will be achieved long before the deadline of 2009.
European Councils devoid of real debates. Answering a question earlier this month on the absence of genuine debate on the main European issues at EU Summits , José Maria Aznar said (see "Le Monde" of 2 March): "It has been a long time since all these subjects were discussed in depth between the European leaders. Recently, we've been talking about virtually nothing". This statement, by someone who has been a player in the European Council for many years, explains a few things.
(F.R.)