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Another New Agenda
How quickly ravenous wolves become cuddly puppies. Britain's Conservative Party, which briefly tantalised Eurorealists with the promise of a break from the swivel-eyed federalists in the EU's EPP party, has reverted to type with a "New Agenda." Outlined in a speech by shadow foreign secretary William Hague, the Tories' new approach seems designed to assuage Europhile fears that the party wants a deeper split with Europe.
Not so long ago, new party leader David Cameron was promising that the Tories would leave the EPP grouping in the European Parliament and build a new tent. Pro-Atlantic, free trade, fiercely sceptical about further integration... good old Tory values, supposedly. Unfortunately, Cameron's promise spooked sitting Tory MEPs, who quite like sitting with the EPP's Gaullists and Christian Democrats, fearing that they would be shifted alongside the far right if they left the shelter of the EPP.
Of course, this is a typical EU threat - anyone expressing any form of dissent risks being aligned with the far right, even if their other policies have nothing to do with extremism. Nevertheless, the Euro-Tories were duly chastened, and some threatened to remain within the ranks of the EPP even if their bosses back in London ordered them out.
It occurs to EURSOC that there's a case to be made for British parties limiting MEP terms to no more than one stint in Brussels / Strasbourg at a time. Last year, rebel Labour MEPs voted with the French against their government on the Working Hours Directive. Now mutinous Tories are refusing orders from London. The European Parliament doesn't need dynamic MEPs - a chimpanzee trained to vote as instructed by party HQ in London would do the trick. Those who stay too long tend to go native in Brussels and begin to see The Project as more important than family quarrels at home.
If an MEP turns out to be any good, he should be brought home and parachuted into a safe seat for the next election. If he's useless - as most of them are - he can be safely removed and replaced.
Back to Hague's speech. The Guardian has Hague trying to "bridge the gap" on Europe, echoing Tony Blair's promise to "put Britain at the heart of Europe." Not the Europe we know and love, though: Hague and Cameron's vision is of a free-tradin', Washington-lovin' liberal EU dedicated to building on "the massive gains in prosperity that have been achieved in the last 15 years". He demands more work on free trade talks (the EU has been foot-dragging, as usual), an end to economic protectionism and even the inclusion of North America in a transatlantic trade zone. Britain will no longer be at the margins of Europe, but instead will lead its troubled fellow nations to the high ground of growth, prosperity, dynamism and economic revival.
Sounds familiar? A bit like Tony Blair's barnstorming speech at the beginning of the British presidency last year, when he threatened Europe with growth, reform, spending realigned from wealthy farmers to high-tech innovators... and of course, it came to nothing. Worse, Britain ended up poorer at the end of Britain's presidency than it was at the beginning.
Eurorealist Tories - mostly those in the UK, in other words - were quick to notice that Hague's speech contains no mention of withdrawing from the EPP. Some MPs grumbled that Cameron's promise was what made them vote for him in the leadership campaign in the first place - at last, a Tory leader who was willing to reflect the party's policy in Europe! Sadly, it wasn't to be - at least, not before 2009.
Cameron already had warning from various centre-right leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel, that the Tories risked losing influence if they left the EPP. Moreover, a less-than-ideal conclusion to the Czech general election, increasingly bizarre antics in Poland and a quarrel between the two nations appears to have put paid to Cameron's plan to build a new grouping with the Czechs and the Poles.
The Sun gets tough on Hague and Cameron's cop-out, claiming that the New Tories have "gone soft" on Europe. Both men would argue otherwise - and their supporters might add that even though British voters are healthily Eurosceptic, in-fighting and soul-searching on the EU does not win votes - at least, among those Brits who still bother to vote.
Cameron, once again, is obsessing over capturing the centre, where elections in Britain tend to be won. Calling for EU reform is sensible plays well at home, but post-Blair, voters are no longer convinced that British rhetoric can solve anything. Do the French want a more liberal EU? Do the Italians? The Germans? All have voted for or supported anti-liberal legislation in the past 12 months. Hague's speech will have next to no impact in Brussels, or anywhere else outside the UK, and perhaps that's how it was intended - the Tories announcing a softer line on Europe.
Cameron is reported to have shelved the issue of EPP membership until 2009 at least. In that time, it's likely that there will be several attempts to revive the constitution - a document the EPP supports without reservation. Federalism will progress apace, while Tories continue to sit with the arch-federalist EPP. Strategies for closer integration of taxes, armed forces, immigration, justice and foreign policy will be introduced, debated, and slipped into the legislative process. At lot can happen before 2009 - but Cameron, it seems, is hoping that we ignore it. Fat chance.
