He has to be taken at his word. Nicolas Sarkozy has announced a series of commitments on Europe; he has to respect those he has made personally, as well as those which were referred to by his direct collaborators. It would be too much to claim that European issues were at the centre of the election campaign, but they were much more visible than in the past.
Mr Sarkozy focused on them in two speeches - last winter in Brussels and on 21 February in Strasbourg. The Strasbourg speech contained the tone of a manifesto for a united Europe: “I want Europe with all my strength, all my soul and all my mind…France can be nothing without Europe. But I don't want a Europe on the cheap, without goals or one that does not have the resources to take action”. Affirmations of principle can contain some rhetoric. That's why I attach more importance to specific commitments, of which there were many, in the Strasbourg speech: “the political existence” of Europe; solidarity; a “European economic government”; food autonomy, etc. This speech was summarised in EUROPE 9375; I won't go back to it but instead I'll highlight the most recent positions taken in the last phase of his election campaign.
Sarkozy's European programme. Nicolas Sarkozy's European programme, according to the declarations published in “Le Monde” on 26 April, are as follows, “We need to move quickly because we've lost too much time. Concretely, we will be creating new institutions at the end of 2007, we are initiating negotiations on future agricultural policy, we are posing the question of competition and Community preference, any enlargement is suspended until there has been institutional reform. I want to initiate a new debate in Europe”. His diagnosis is harsh: “We Europeans are victims of social, environmental, tax and monetary dumping”. He wants to “initiate the debate” on each of these aspects, as well as on the question of the Euro, “to obtain a more reasonable exchange rate”. He also mentioned the debate “on raising the moral standards of finance capital, which should be tackled at a European level”. The debate on any of these issues can no longer be just a debate among the French themselves.
In order for the debate to become a European debate, the way in which the EU functions at an institutional level has to be improved. Sarkozy put particular emphasis on the current weaknesses at the European Council: “What's hurting Europe is the fact that there is no longer any debate, insofar as even before going to a meeting of heads of state and government, there are endless press releases on the matter which are as lengthy as they are vacuous”.
Michael Barnier explains. Some of Mr Sarkozy's orientations have provoked certain reservations (concerning, for example, the hypothesis about pressure on the European Central Bank) or bewilderment in other member states. This is why we need to take Mr Sarkozy at his word when he says that he wants to open up the debates and negotiate without claiming that he will he will be finding all the solutions. This is why, in relation to the details, we have to take into account what Michel Barnier had to say. He was a European commissioner before becoming foreign affairs minister in his country. Journalists (not just those from France) usually address questions about Europe to him. On the economic and monetary issue, he was very clear: “Building needs to commence immediately on economic governance in an effort to create a more balanced dialogue with the European Central Bank (ECB). Independence of the ECB should not be challenged but the Euro should be both a shield and a tool and the currency should help growth as well as price stability”. He explained: “The Euro Council (Eurogroup) should be a real government for the European economy that further coordinates tax and budgetary policies in the eurozone”.
On other areas mentioned by Mr Sarkozy, Mr Barnier explained: “We have to take work on company relocations forward, as well as work on the economic substance of Europe, and to defend Community preference, not just in a protectionist sense but also in demanding reciprocity, fair play and respect for the rules”. Speaking about the EU's internal dimension, Barnier stated that “in some member states there is a desire to undo the main Community policies and make the Union into a free trade zone with social and tax competition in it…Solidarity needs to be maintained within the European area”. If it turns out to be impossible to “get the EU27 running again” all together, instruments will be needed that, “help push some of them forward more quickly. If not, we will witness a plethora of initiatives outside the Union. Flexibility instruments are needed that enable member states to go forward at their own pace but on the same road”.
(F.R.)