A leadership for Europe

None of the smaller Countries has ever expected to take the lead of the European Union. That doesn’t mean that even a small Country wouldn’t be capable of guiding the Union in moral and concrete terms. A lot depends on the leaders available at that moment. Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg), is an example of what can be done. The larger countries are those that develop similar ambitions, and it is expected that those countries would assume a guiding role. At the time of the birth of the European Community France was the country that assumed the leadership. In the following decades and until nowadays French politics have never led to question the leading role that France seems called to play. Since the adoption of the French-German Treaty (January 1963), Paris justly wanted to exert such leadership in cooperation with its German neighbor. However, the performance of the French-German engine has always depended on the leaders of the two States. That’s why, looking back at the past 40 years, the most successful years were those when Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Helmut Schmidt or Francois Mitterand and Helmut Kohl led the politics in their own Countries.In recent years, given the weakness of its French partner, Member countries passed the baton of European leadership to Germany, not only for the comparably more solid and strong position of the country, but also – and especially – owing to the ability of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel of setting goals and reaching compromises. In addition to the guidance of it Member States, the European Union also needs the guidance of the community, embodied by its thriving institutions. The decision-making methods envisaged in the Treaties of Rome until the Lisbon Treaty entrust legislative responsibilities to the two pillars of the Union, i.e., the States and Community. From this perspective, only the Commission (the Community body par excellence) can advance proposals to the decision-making bodies represented by the Council of Ministers and by the Parliament. The Council, tasked with voicing Member States’ interests and Parliament, representing citizens’ interests, have the responsibility of taking joint decisions on the Commission’s proposals. Significantly, each time this path is chosen the EU is successful, while when this method is not followed, as in the case of foreign policy, lacking an effective involvement of the Parliament and Commission, the EU doesn’t progress , and it often fails. There ensues that the Commission – as executive body – and its President – as its leader – have primary roles. In seeking the features of a successful leadership, promoted by the Commission, two historical figures, the only ones at the lead of the EU institution for a entire decade, cannot pass unnoticed. These are: Walter Hallstein (1958-1967) and Jacques Delors (1985-1994). Both figures are characterized by a set of distinctive features, which should in turn characterize all successful EU Commission presidents. Only the most important will be mentioned. Both Walter Hallstein and Jacques Delors have shown respect for the discipline characterizing major, revolutionary integration projects, whose realization depended on agendas which under certain angles structured the future, extending beyond their own mandates. These are: the gradual establishment of the common market in a 12 year timeframe, as envisaged by the Treaties of Rome and the establishment of the single market in 1992 (Delors). A special talent for analysis and synthesis, along with the ability to find the right words in all circumstances and ways to communicate them, enabled both statesmen to make a strategic use of their public speeches and debates, convincing large audiences thanks to the force and the validity of what they said. But their credibility, thus the respectability they enjoyed on the part of member states’ governments, was largely due to their relentless dedication to their executive assignments for Europe and the achievement of the goals expressed by the Commission.Now that European parties are preparing for the 2014 elections, including the identification of the candidate president of the EU Commission, these two historical figures should be taken as role models by their future candidates.