Ronda, 19/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - “I fear political Europe is dead, and I don't enjoy saying so”, former French Prime Minister Socialist Michel Rocard said on 18 July during the summer university of the European Parliament dedicated this year to the future of Europe. MEP Rocard expressed his fear that the vision of a “power Europe” might be definitively buried by the Member States that have entered the EU to make a “large Switzerland”, a performant and multilingual economic area but a political dwarf. He said the European adventure remains unique and has been a huge achievement and could even, with the experience gained through its permanent search for consensus, serve as an example to help reduce certain international imbalances.
Michel Rocard deplored the fact that Europe has little influence on the international political scene and is unable to speak with a single, strong voice. “Israel is ablaze!”, he exclaimed, considering the EU Council's response to the current crisis “unacceptable” (see related article and EUROPE 9234) as it is “not even able to tell Israel: you are overdoing it; it will turn against you”. Furthermore, Michel Rocard is of the view that Europe's “security problem” is still topical and finds its source in the clash between two visions: the idea that is dear to General de Gaulle's France whereby “Europe can take care of its own security” thanks to nuclear power, and the vision of a Europe aligned to the American military might through NATO. Regarding the EU's internal policies, Mr Rocard is highly critical of the failings of the financial perspectives 2007-2013 fixed at “1.049%” of the EU's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), although “we shall never be able to manage with less than 2%”.
Europe can nonetheless boast of “unprecedented achievements”, Michel Rocard explained, evoking the Franco-German friendship and the reconciliation processes between Ireland and the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland, and Hungary and Romania. And Europe will produce still more results, he said, citing among other achievements a “border police” and single currency. Michel Rocard sees the EU as an “unidentified constitutional object” with a “body of extraordinary rules, the best in the world” mainly on human rights and competition. The result is that: “everyone wants to be a part and cannot say no”, he joked, saying “yes” to Turkey's membership.
Europe is evolving in a world dominated by imbalance, Rocard pointed out, pointing a finger of blame at the “master of the system” that “is not aware of its responsibility”: the United States. The US tendency to react with a “military approach” compromises the fight against proliferation and deprives the West of “any moral authority for preaching disarmament” vis-à-vis Iran and North Korea, he deplored. On the economic front, the United States has to face dangerous over-indebtedness (rate of 240% compared to the GDP in 2002) and “can only keep going by borrowing $2 billion per day”, the former French prime minister said, expressing the view that “we are sitting on a volcano: the financial tsunami!” (an illusion to the return to instability on the financial markets and the Russian and Asian financial crises, the stock exchange Internet bubble, …).
Michel Rocard also noted a crucial development in capitalism during the 1980s which created greater imbalance: the transition from an “intermediate capitalism”, or “Rhine capitalism”, which takes account of the interests of all players (industry, workers, banks, etc.) to a “shareholder capitalism” geared to financial profitability. He explained that shareholders have “woken up” with the appearance of pension funds, hedge funds and investment funds (the most “brutal” in his view) which, with 15% profitability requirements, put “enormous pressure” on companies by amputating their research and development budgets, annihilating the entrepreneurial spirit and pushing for the “externalisation of costs” through the creation of subsidiaries that are poor and have a weak trade union system. “That is the birth of employment uncertainty”, Mr Rocard asserted.
In answer to the question “is there a sort of creeping crisis”, Michel Rocard stressed that, at the economic level, “correcting” elements must be re-established for the capitalist system. He mainly spoke of “social security” which humanises and stabilises the re-establishment of the workers' purchasing power. What has no “merchant value” - i.e. culture, education or health - “must also have its place”, and the “ecological factors” must also be included, he said. At the political level, Michel Rocard denounced the “failure” of the use of force as can be seen by the consequences of US intervention in Iraq. He hoped to give priority to “soft power”, to the negotiation of international agreements for defusing major international imbalances and, for this, he said, “Europe is the best expert in the world”.