A Dark Future for United European Foreign Policy
Joschka Fischer, Former German Foreign Minister | July 2, 2008
Ireland's "No" vote primed the way for the EU to leave "the world stage as a serious foreign policy player for at least ten years." ++ While the EU will continue to exist, it will not have the strength to determine its own fate or act with a united European foreign policy. ++ Small and medium sized EU members will loose global influence and EU enlargement will be delayed or stopped. ++ Rather than accepting a blockade, "members favoring political integration should move on, while those satisfied with the Common Market should stay behind."
Wed, Jul 2nd 2008, 09:13
Ilyas M. Mohsin, PPP, Platinum Contributor (296)
political integration a la Lisbon treaty. There is little doubt that lack of progress in that direction is going to compound EU’ difficulties as an entity which should be able to
exert influence on the course of world events. By proxy, this would hurt the G7 position too. Robert Kagan had also recently in his IHT article, almost, disparaged the EU for its current listlessness.
The EU leaders must find a way-out of this bind in the interest of democracy etc which most of them espouse. This is despite the strains experienced by the US itself due to the approach covered by ‘my way or highway’ aphorism followed by the Administration till lately. Treaty of Nice etc may provide a break through. If not the leaders must rise to the occasion to cross the Rubicon in good faith.