Brussels, 27/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - European themes usually only represent a marginal aspect in election campaigns in member states. The political class considers that they don't pay dividends. This is not the case in the presidential election campaign in France (see a Look Behind the News in yesterday's bulletin and the previous page in this one). The speech by Nicolas Sarkozy in Strasbourg, on Wednesday 21 February, indicated pretty accurately what orientations he would put forward as president of the French Republic if he is elected. An outline of the positions he expressed in Strasbourg is as follows.
1. Political existence and borders. “I want a Europe that exists politically, that has an identity and consequently, a Europe that has borders. I want a Europe where all the countries of the world, even those which are democratic, do not have a vocation of joining. Turkey, which is not a European country, does not have a place within the EU. Europe without borders is the death of the great idea of a political Europe and creates the risk of becoming a sub-region of the UN”.
2. Europe of solidarity. “I want a Europe where a country that has signed the Schengen agreements does not proceed to massive regularisation of immigrants without asking the opinion of its partners. I want a Europe where no state can practise social dumping from within, a Europe where European aid cannot finance tax dumping to the detriment of other member states”.
3. Controlled and balanced globalisation. “I want a Europe that doesn't fold its arms when faced with globalisation. I believe in the virtues of competition, but I do not believe that competition is a religion…I believe in the benefits of free trade, but controlled free trade that is regulated and where the state can intervene to compensate for monetary, social or ecological dumping”.
“France cannot do anything alone. In the face of globalisation and the immense forces it unleashes, France needs Europe. Today, Europe is the only force capable of counterbalancing any attempt at creating hegemony in the world. Only Europe can oppose the limitless power of the market. Only Europe is able to transform globalisation from within and only Europe is able to provide a project of civilisation”.
4. European economic governance. “We have to be able to propose to the people of Europe a Europe that has an economic government that defends the interests of Europeans, and which has its say on monetary and exchange policies. We have to be able to propose to the people of Europe that monetary policy also aims to achieve growth and jobs, and not just inflation”.
5. A fair trade policy. Europe must “provide itself with the means of protecting itself against abuses from competitors and dumping from Asia. This requires reciprocity in all circumstances, a Europe that protects its strategies against predators, and where the right to compete does not prevent the emergence of global European champions”.
6. For workers, artisans and peasants. “It is not only the economy at stake: it is also the idea of man and is also a problem of values. There is a workers' culture, a specific relationship between workers, life and work. If a factory closes down, the rest goes with it. There is a peasant culture and this should not be lost. There is a culture of artisans, a specific relationship between a specific action and perfection, between precision and technique. Europe without peasants, artisans or workers would be an impoverished Europe, morally, culturally and economically…A profession that disappears, a village that becomes empty, an industrial area that collapses, is a tragedy. No economic imperative can justify a policy's indifference to this tragedy and the suffering it causes. Public impotence can absolutely not compel acceptance of this human destruction without doing anything, when imagination, willingness and decency would be enough to prevent it”.
7. Needs of agriculture and challenges facing it. “If I am elected, I will propose to our partners that the dossier on the Common Agricultural Policy is reopened with the aim of guaranteeing food self-sufficiency in Europe, health security, respect for the environment and a decent wage for farmers (with prices that respect their knowledge). A rethink of agricultural policy is necessary; getting rid of it would be a disaster for European independence. It would leave farmers in the hands of the speculators”.
At the same time, Mr Sarkozy reaffirmed the demand for a European energy policy and he intends to discuss the “raising of moral standards in finance capitalism” about which he has already indicated certain demands and guidelines.