A Defining Moment in Europe

...On March 14 an ad hoc committee of investigators completed its report...

...They despair over the way Prime Minister Tony Blair and his dominant Labor Party, not to mention renegade Conservatives, boast of their solid European credentials—in contrast to the dismissive attitudes of the saintly Margaret Thatcher and past Conservative governments...

...Whatever their views on how the Kosovo situation has evolved, Britons who dread the loss of their distinctive national identity are fearful of the wider implications of this joint European military planning and the increased spending that accompanies it...

...During these days of growing integration among the nations of Europe, however, some among the guardians of traditional values are troubled by the increasing readiness of most Britons to dismiss national pride as old hat and infra dig...

...Known for its high-handed behavior, the Commission has long been derided here as a grossly overstaffed, overpaid, Byzantine bureaucracy, addicted to uncontrollable extravagance, inefficiency, incompetence and, in some cases, corruption...

...Nevertheless, evidence is accumulating that the picture could be transformed significantly in the not-toodistant future, even if there is no great change in either country's political complexion...

...Should it continue to do so, in Britain as well as elsewhere the EU would become more credible as an expression of the democratic will of Europe's people...

...Changes in the EU's administrative structure have also tended to contribute to an increased British commitment to the whole concept...

...That could have widereaching ramifications...

...THE BRITISH AND THE EU A Defining Moment in Europe By Norman Gelb London Along established concert series here at Albert Hall concludes each year with a lively rendition of "Rule Britannia...

...Those words were quickly backed up by actions...

...At the subsequent EU summit meeting in Berlin, Tony Blair, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and the other European leaders agreed that changes had to be made if the Commission is to regain credibility and trust...

...That the NATO campaign has been led by the United States, and almost certainly could not have been mounted at all without the commitment of American hardware, does not detract from the significance of this development...

...For them, the unsettling effects of multiculturalism, resulting from the recent establishment of large communities of Asians and blacks, are greatly compounded by what they see as a chipping away at their nation's sovereignty by the European Union (EU), of which Britain is a member...

...The close relationship between President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair, the only foreign leader who went out of his way to volunteer warm support for the President during his recent personal humiliation, suggests those links are not under threat...

...For the Armed Forces of Britain, France, Italy, and other EU nations— most amazingly Germany—to join in coordinated military action within their own region unites Europe to the greatest extent since the collapse of the Roman Empire...

...It is a defining moment...

...Somewhat ironically, many of them believe that only by maintaining strong links with America can Britain save itself from total submergence in a European superstate...

...They howl in anger as British courts and government agencies bow to decisions made at EU headquarters in Brussels that often nullify long-established British laws and practices...

...Although the European Parliament's deputies are elected by their respective constituencies throughout the EU in often hard-fought contests, they were themselves ridiculed for running little more than a talk shop until this past January...

...Referring to Serbian ethnic cleansing, European leaders agreed at the EU summit in Berlin at the end of March that "on the eve of the 21 st century, Europe cannot tolerate a humanitarian catastrophe...

...If a U.S.-EU trade war erupts, the British could be victims of the trade restrictions many in Congress have lately been demanding...

...It appears that the European Parliament, based in Strasbourg, is finally beginning to fulfill its intended role of keeping in check the European Commission, or executive branch, located in Brussels...

...Norman Gelb reports regularly for The New Leader on British affairs...

...That was when the Parliament, reacting vigorously to a dismissed auditor's whistle-blowing disclosure of the Commission's shortcomings, pressed for an independent investigation of how the Commission functions...

...It seems inevitable that before we are very long into the next century, the annual rendition of "Rule Britannia" at Albert Hall will be even more of a spoof than it has been up to now...

...Still, Britain's superparriots, the "little Englanders" like those who have formed a new, no-hope British Independence Party, remind one of shipwrecked mariners forlornly clinging to a log far out at sea...

...Europe's participation in both planning and operations should not be underestimated...

...They wonder where all of this will lead and fear it may end with Britannia no more ruling its own house than it rules the waves these days...

...This hugely amusing spectacle has become a ritual bursting of the balloon of patriotic pomposity...

...Now they have a new worry: They are apprehensive about the long-term political and military implications of NATO's military action in Yugoslavia...

...Should people visiting from across the Atlantic find themselves in Albert Hall on the night in question, they might view the event as equivalent to young Americans deliberately making a mockery of, say, the "Battle Hymn of the Republic...

...They roar out the chorus about Britannia ruling the waves and Britons never ever being slaves...

...But the main feature of the event is the audience, especially the hundreds of young people—some wearing funny hats, others with paint-daubed faces—joyfully jammed upright into the huge, seatless orchestra pit area beneath the stage...

...exporting genetically modified food products, protectionism, trade preferences, subsidies to industries, and tariffs), is deeply worrying on both sides of the Atlantic...

...They jubilantly demand countless encores, during which they hoot and whistle some more...

...They further agreed that former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was the right man to oversee the overhaul and should replace Santer...

...By forcing the pace of things, the elected European Parliament has for the first time shown it can act as the effective legislative branch of the community...

...The clear implication is that Europe might in the future very well be capable of acting in its own backyard without the United States...

...Of course, as Americans know from recent experience, when a government's legislative body decides to flex its muscles at the expense of the executive branch, all sorts of strange things can follow...

...Both Europhiles and Europhobes in Britain realize that the Kosovo crisis, perhaps more than economic integration, has radically changed the Continent's geopolitical face...

...Two days later all the existing commissioners and their president, the ineffective Jacques Santer of Luxembourg, resigned...

...The current rash of trade disputes between the United States and the European Union (over the U.S...

...Commissioner Edith Cresson, a former French Prime Minister, is among those who have been particular targets of criticism...

...For economic and political interests of its own, Britain mostly adheres to positions taken by the EU in these matters...

...If he succeeds in doing the job that needs to be done in Brussels, he will redeem the Commission's reputation and enhance his own...

...They hoot and whistle and twirl noisemakers...

...Surely it is a much more acceptable example of youthful British behavior than is offered by the country's notorious soccer hooligans...

...But whatever happens, the rules of the EU game have undergone an important transformation...

...Prodi is a respected economic and political reformer...

...It has further observed, "The days of the post-Cold War peace dividend in Europe are over...

...But even devout British patriots tend to see it for what it is, an exuberant, harmless spoof with undertones of genuine national pride...

...The London Times has called Kosovo "the turning point for European security," and sees it creating new requirements for Europe's own long-term military capabilities...

...It is always sung by a prominent classical vocalist backed by a full symphony orchestra...

...But the entire body, dominated by appointees from the EU's member governments, has been seen as a place to park politicians who are awaiting dignified retirement after being rejected by the voters, or who have otherwise outlived their usefulness...