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What Would Europe Do?
Iran's kidnap of British sailors offers Europe the opportunity to show real solidarity, writes Timothy Garton Ash in the Guardian.
European diplomats should put pressure on Tehran to assist their fellow Europeans; Europe's nations - who conduct mulit-billion euro trade with Iran - should threaten trade sanctions. Time to "put your money where your mouth is", Garton-Ash demands.
TG-A admits that most Britons - indeed, most Europeans, and certainly not the British servicemen being held hostage by Iran do not feel "instinctive solidarity" with other Europeans.
However, the celebration of the European Union's Fiftieth anniversary - which took place this weekend, as Iran transported the hostages from the Gulf to a secret base - had no shortage of government leaders and Eurocrats proclaiming our common European heritage.
If this is the case, should the EU's governments, and the EU itself, treat the Britons as if they are Europeans? Should Europe be considering continent-wide sanctions on Iran, for kidnapping "it's" servicemen? Or is it just Britain's problem?
"Or are all your Sunday speeches about European solidarity in the cause of peace and freedom not even worth the paper they are written on?", says TG-A.
This could be Europe's moment. Unfortunately, Europe has had moments before, most memorably during the Bosnian conflict in the 1990s, when the EU nations sat on their hands while thousands were massacred.
If the EU acts as one to support Britain during the hostage crisis, well and good: The actions of an entire continent, even if few supported the British presence in the Middle East, will deter further acts of war from dangerous states like Iran. The European Union might even prove to us it merits the clout on the international stage its supporters claim for it.
However, if that support is not forthcoming, what can Britain and British Euro-enthusiasts, like Timothy Garton-Ash conclude?
It feels shameful to raise petty Euro-issues like this when British servicemen are held hostage by Iran's hateful regime: But TG-A started it!
The support of the US is guaranteed, even if the British government, for the moment, is playing down US involvement. But if our "fellow Europeans" cannot bring themselves to rally to the UK's cause, will Europhiles admit that closer European integration is a lost cause?
