Barnier: US exploiting lack of EU ‘reflex’

Date: 30/01/03

By Dana Spinant

THE countries set to join the EU next year lack a "European reflex" and the United States has exploited this, according to Michel Barnier, the commissioner responsible for institutional reforms.

This reflex of "being or thinking European" cannot be "declared"; it can develop only slowly, he told European Voice.

"The newcomers have to understand that by joining the Union, they are not simply entering a supermarket. They are joining a political Union too," he said.

However, in a reference to American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recent disparaging remarks about France and Germany, triggered by their doubts over the US stance on Iraq, Barnier said he would not let him divide Europe into "old" and "new'" just because some countries lack this reflex.

Candidate countries have come under fire recently for their allegiance to Washington, at the cost of undermining a common European front. Poland and Slovakia, for instance, are believed to support the US line on Iraq, irrespective of the position of their EU counterparts.

Barnier sees this as a consequence of the fact that their security to a large extent depends on the US and NATO. However, their allegiance to Washington may wane once the EU is able to ensure their protection, he suggested.

"Their big concern has been security," Barnier acknowledged. "The United States has benefited from this and still benefits."

However, Barnier admits that "even some of the present 15 member states do not have this [European] reflex" - presumably meaning the UK, Spain and Italy. Barnier did not elaborate.

He preferred to stress that such a reflex can be built progressively via military cooperation - "through the European Armaments' Agency, for instance". Such an agency, suggested by the Convention on the future of the EU's working group on European defence, chaired by Barnier, would involve the pooling of EU countries' defence procurement budgets.

"Polish, Hungarian and French manufacturers working together through this agency would help boost this reflex," he said. Poland, for instance, has been lambasted by EU diplomats for deciding to purchase the American F-16 fighter instead of the French Mirage or Gripens multi-role fighter built by BAE Systems and Saab.

A senior Convention member echoed this, pointing out that future EU members will decrease their allegiance to the US when they understand that "the defence of the European territory is not a priority for America anymore", and when Europe is capable of defending itself.

Despite admitting that the Union still has to work to boost its future members' loyalty, Barnier insisted there is no rift between an "old" and a "new" Europe.

"I was very stimulated by Mr Rumsfeld's remarks on 'old Europe'. I see old as meaning experience, wisdom. We can be that and be modern too," he said. "However, I won't let him divide Europe in two."

Speaking before the European Parliament's foreign affairs and security committee, the commissioner defended the proposals he put forward to the Convention to introduce a 'solidarity' clause in the future constitution.

Under such a clause, the EU states would commit to assisting and defending each other in the event of an attack - particularly a terrorist attack - on their territory.

Barnier rejected claims he wanted to transform the EU into a militarised super-state. "The constitution must not create a super-state, but a super-power," he said. "In certain areas we have succeeded in becoming a super-power [in trade or through the single currency, for instance] without being a super-state.

"I'm for intelligent cooperation in military matters, not for a super-state."

The countries set to join the EU in 2004 lack a 'European reflex' and the United States has exploited this, according to Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner responsible for institutional reforms.