Example, a utopia?

Fifty years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, it is still quite normal to present Europe as an economic giant and a political dwarf, especially at the level of international policy. It is true that the failure of the draft Constitutional Treaty, the considerable differences in the way the various countries of the European Union analyse the world, their divisions also regarding the USA and the role it should play in the world, seem to confirm this observation. So should Europe content itself with a role of spectator to the world, at the most a role of support for the USA whenever it wants it? Yet Europe could play the role of peacemaker that many peoples hope and expect of her, in particular in the Middle East. This happens when the European States furnish the majority of the troops of FINUL, the UN force deployed in Southern Lebanon since September 2006. But Europe especially could act in two directions, both of them on the basis of her historical experience, which was all too often rather painful. The first would be action to reinforce the UNO, to recall the importance of international law, and never to be satisfied with the weakening of the international institutions. Criticising, or even making fun, of the UNO is all too easy, but the world has no choice other than turning the UN into a real place of dialogue and cooperation. Faced by the contempt of American diplomacy for the UNO, the responsibility of Europe, which was the pioneer in welcoming the first international institutions after the First World War, should be continually to recall its irreplaceable character. The second direction would be that of reconciliation. The history of Europe since 1950 teaches that: it is possible to say ‘no’ to a history of war, to centuries-old conflicts, and thus build something really new together, a common future. The concept of hereditary enemy is revealed as inapplicable: the EU is here to demonstrate that in very concrete terms. There are many hereditary enemies among its members: France and England, Germany and France, Romania and Hungary, Italy and Austria, Germany and Poland. The return from a journey to the Holy land, to Israel and Palestine, leaves a feeling of despair. Given the thirst for land of the Palestinians, their humiliations suffered for so many years, and the determination of the Israelis to have their own homeland, their absolute need for security, the observer is forced to the conclusion that it is impossible to find a reasonable solution that would respect the rights of both sides. Yet the answer lies in the history and in the spirit of the Europeans, in other words, in this twofold experience of international cooperation and of reconciliation/forgiveness that has ensured a period of peace never experienced before in the history of Europe. At a time of some pessimism about the functioning of Europe, we need to remember not only her responsibilities, but also and especially her historical experiences that undoubtedly permit her to occupy a central place in the hopes and expectations of the world. The Popes have never ceased to emphasise the role of Europe as ‘lantern’ of the world. Paul VI and John Paul II, during their journeys to the international organizations (UNO, UNESCO, FAO, WTO, etc.), always consigned to Europe a message of commitment to serving the world. Re-proposing that example probably smacks of utopia. Diplomats will say that peace only derives from long negotiations. But when hatred, incomprehension and fear take hold of peoples, when the diplomatic solutions have all failed, then we need to make way for the utopians and the prophets. The constructors of united Europe were utopians and prophets. The problem is to know whether there are any in the Middle East.