Flying in the face of democracy

Date: 24/04/1997

LADIES and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.

We have just reached our cruising speed of 2,000 Council of Ministers' meetings and expect to pass through 3&percent; of gross domestic product very shortly.

On behalf of the crew, I would like to apologise for any discomfort you are experiencing at the moment, but we have run into some unexpected national election turbulence and strong head winds which may slow us down a little.

Therefore we do request that you take heed of the illuminated warning signs above your heads and remain in your seats until we are out of the clouds. We assure you there is no need to panic. Not very much, anyway...

Or, to put it another way, one general election in the final stages of the Intergovernmental Conference may be considered unfortunate; two general elections is unlucky; but three is just sheer carelessness.

What we are all facing, fellow passengers aboard this Euro-jet non-stop service to the paradise island of Integration, is a serious danger that national democracy will put a dampener on current negotiations.

And who knows how political fortunes and priorities over Europe may have changed by the time everyone lands in Amsterdam for a refuelling stop?

This ill-timed outbreak of democracy at national level began in the United Kingdom. It ends there next week, but the trend has caught on. Now France - never happy to be out of fashion - has joined in, with Ireland soon to follow.

Forecasters predict that, very soon, it will extend right across Europe. And if it does, our flight could be delayed on the ground in Amsterdam. The captain and his crew may have to be replaced when their time runs out. We may have to get off and get on another plane. We could lose our luggage.

And when we get to Integration it may be raining and the hotel won't be finished.

But as Captain Jacques Santer announced when he spoke to the passengers this week, there is no going back. The only thing to do is fly on into the future, whatever it may hold.

He actually admitted that this journey will probably go on for ever, into infinity, because it is a journey without end.

We may in fact never reach Integration.

No, the prospect is of a seamless flight, preferably in blue skies, at ever increasing speeds taking us way beyond the 2,000 Council of Ministers' barrier (happy birthday for last Monday, by the way).

“The European Union is always at the stage of 'work in progress'. We have only one option - to move on,” said the captain.

“Our way ahead is clearly charted and follows from our overall project and our belief in the overwhelming benefits of integration. We have decided on our direction. We have started to move forward again. So there is no point at all in keeping our feet on the brakes - indeed it is even dangerous.”

It certainly is if you are flying and the captain has no intention of changing his chosen mode of transport for something slower.

The problem is that this irritating outbreak of national democracy means that leaders cannot represent their electorates at European level while the electorate is in the middle of deciding whether it wants the present set of national ministers to speak on its behalf at all.

And that can only mean one thing - paralysis.

Democracy has come full circle, until it has reached the point where it has the power to stifle debate and hamper the process of integration.

Mathematicians are even now trying to work out exactly how many more member states have to join the EU before we reach the point where there is a general election taking place somewhere or other at any given time.

At that point, everything will stop for tea and people will start talking about approximating national election rules to ensure that there are no more unwelcome interruptions to Captain Santer's flight.

Supporters of the single currency are always keen to demonstrate that the federation of states known as the United States of America functions extremely efficiently with just one currency, but so far no one has dared to point out that, equally, this federation manages with just one elected leader...

Realists will admit readily that harmonising elections across Europe at this relatively early stage in the flight is not on. But approximation - the second-best settled for in areas like value added tax - is always a possibility.

We all know that everything stops for tea as soon as one country or another calls a general election. But if the timing of elections in all member states were the same, we could at least get the disruption out of the way at the same time to minimise the negative impact.

So, you harmonise election times and approximate the voting, in the sense that everyone votes for their national politicians, on national polices, but on the same day.

It would be, of course, a short step to cross-border voting, with a multinational ballot paper in which all European citizens cast votes for all European leaders in order of preference. The one with the most votes would double as prime minister of his or her own country and also president-in-office of Europe for the next five years.

Wait a minute! What am I saying? The steward has put something in my in-flight meal!

But here comes the captain on the intercom again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, just an update on our position.

If you look out on the port side, you will see the French preparing to use the single currency as a general election punchbag. On the starboard side, the British are engaged in hand-to-hand combat on Europe and in a few minutes we should catch sight of the Irish arguing over whether the benefits of Union membership have been great, very great, or even greater still.

“In the event of thick fog over Amsterdam we may have to find another refuelling stop, but I still anticipate arrival in Integration on schedule at some time in the future.”