A fortune for Europe

International relations were rarely so much at the centre of public attention during a semester of European Union presidency. Despite French presidency has put on top of the agenda two important foreign policy issues – the initiative aimed at establishing the so-called Mediterranean Union, and the intention to specifically address immigration- related questions -, these were not in the limelight. The developments of the Caucasus crisis, culminated in the war between Russia and Georgia, followed by the international financial markets’ crisis, triggered foreign policy activism on the part of a European Council president without equal. In both cases, thanks to determined crisis management, Nicolas Sarkozy managed at least to achieve temporary solutions, supported by all Member States, which lied within expectations. Russia was contained and financial markets were soothed. Although these crises have not been fully overcome yet and the semester still has to come to its end, it can be said that the European Union can be satisfied with the fortunate coincidence of the French presidency in this delicate moment. Apart from the willingness to take personal responsibilities and risks, typical of President Sarkozy’s temperament, and without dwelling into his vigorous activism, which leads him to overdo things at times, we owe the Union’s successful management of the present crises to the typically French vision of a “Europe-puissance”, i.e. the vision of Europe a world political power. This time, the reflection of the great power – that France preserved despite all historical changes and despite the remarkable loss of power tools – acted in a positive way, since it was not exerted to the service of national politics but rather to promote the politics of the European Union, granting it the necessary self-awareness it needed to intervene. It is to be hoped that this new experience will teach the right lessons. French politics could learn that its aspirations as world power can be best achieved through the European Union, by systematically contributing its potentials to Community action. All other Member States – including Germany and Italy, with the exception of Great Britain – that according to their respective ambitions are average powers or small States, might learn that Europe isn’t only an area to be put to worth (“Europe espace”), but that the European Union is potentially a super power, and mostly, that it has the vocation and the responsibility to be a super power, due to its economic and cultural world stand. This demands the courage and readiness to act on the part of all Member State leaders.