Sarkozy’s ‘EU6’ plan doomed to fail, says UK’s former Mr Europe

By Tim King

Date: 06/10/05

The creation of an inner core of EU states along the lines proposed by France's presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy will not work, says a veteran observer of the EU scene, Sir Stephen Wall.

Drawing on his lengthy experience of relations between the EU capitals, Wall said Sarkozy's suggestion of an EU6 was not sustainable.

The former British ambassador to the EU, who was later EU adviser to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, recalled efforts to create trilateralism between France, Germany and the UK.

"That co-operation was rather shortlived," he said, although he pointed out that trilateralism had helped to sort out one of the obstacles in the path of drawing up a constitutional treaty in that it led to greater co-operation on defence.

The impulse for trilateralism, he said, had been a perception that the large member states would have to run the EU after enlargement to 25 nations.

But the seeds of destruction of this co-operation lay in the very close relationship between France and Germany.

The benefits to the UK did not outweigh the drawbacks, Wall suggested.

"It wrecked Blair's relationship with [Spanish premier José Maria] Aznar and caused near apoplexy on the part of [Italian Prime Minister Silvio] Berlusconi," he said, casting doubt on whether a select group of countries could be self-appointed managers of the EU.

Wall, who was UK permanent representative in 1995-2000, said that in retrospect it was clear that he had come to Brussels at "the high point of integration".

He is now working in Brussels again part-time for the international public affairs consultancy Hill and Knowlton.

In the intervening period, he noted, the strength of the Commission was much diminished.

Sarkozy's suggestion of an independent competition authority was, he said, symptomatic of a sense of disillusionment with the EU institutions. But the Commission was and should be the competition authority. Similarly, it was the Commission that should be negotiating on trade.

Recalling the run-up to the single currency, Wall recalled that he and his staff had prepared briefings for the government in London, wrongly predicting greater co-operation on policymaking between the countries of the eurozone.

"What I hadn't realised was that actually the political will was not there," he said. "That was hard to spot at the time. The evidence is what has now happened to the Stability and Growth Pact."

Comments by Sir Stephen Wall, former British ambassador to the EU and EU adviser to the British Prime Minister on the proposal of France's Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, to create an inner core of EU states.