EU damned if it stays divided, says Giscard

Date: 28/05/03

By Dana Spinant

VALERY Giscard d'Estaing, head of the Convention on the future of the EU, is set to defy his critics with a blistering attack on those member states which have forced him into a series of climb-downs over the future constitution.

The former French president will come out fighting during a keynote speech tomorrow (29 May) in the German city of Aachen, where he is due to receive the 2003 Charlemagne Prize for "fostering a united Europe". The tone of his speech may come as a surprise to many.

Although he does not actually name the member states which have curtailed his ambitions for the constitution, there can be no doubt that he is referring primarily to the UK and Nordic countries.

"Damn Europe, if it remains divided," he will warn his audience, adding that all its past triumphs will be at risk unless it goes further down the road towards political integration. Failure to do so will "damn its growth, the blossoming of its culture, the vigour of its science and its technology, its image and its influence in the world".

Giscard will declare that the European Union is at a crossroads and its leaders must make tough choices on whether they see the EU as a mere "economic confederation" or something more. He makes his position crystal clear.

"Europe needs to go further in its ambitions. Europe must better organize itself to become an actor more listened to and more respected in international life."

He insists that the EU must take charge of its own security and cooperate better to produce more coordinated policies to further boost the euro - which hit a record high this week against the dollar.

For Giscard, the more ambitious choice would be the one "which corresponds to public expectations" and provides "the historic answer to the present questions".

Nobody should be allowed to make the European project fail "for selfish or partisan reasons", he will say.

Resorting to rhetorical language, he calls for a Europe constructed from "superior storeys". Economic integration is the first storey of the European constitution, he explains, but more storeys can be added on top of this "common plinth". Another such storey would be "stable institutions", an indication of his support for an elected, full-time president of the European Council.

However, he is also careful to reassure his critics, especially those siren voices coming from the UK, that the constitution "cannot be the charter of a centralised federal state".

Giscard points out that building a politically integrated bloc was the original aim of the EU's founding fathers in the 1950s, who saw economic integration as only a means to achieve it.

"The founding fathers' approach was a political one integration of the coal and steel industry was aimed at linking the economic interests of the member states to the point where a community of destiny would emerge."

He will also tell the Aachen audience that the EU must work harder to reach out to the public, instead of being understood by only the few.

The Convention chief will also use the occasion to launch a thinly-veiled attack on Romano Prodi, the

European Commission president, over his failure to agree to Giscard's challenge for a public debate. "I regret that this proposal has not been accepted," he will say.

Previous winners of the Charlemagne Prize, named after the eighth century Christian emperor who died in Aachen in 814 AD, include former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and former US president Bill Clinton.

Giscard will declare himself a "modest" disciple of Charlemagne. While the emperor, along with Julius Caesar and Napoleon, tried to unify Europe with a sword, "we try to unite it with a pen", he concludes, adding: "Let's keep our head full of Europe."

In a keynote speech on 29 May 2003, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, is expected to call on Member States to increase their political integration or risk the future of the European Union.