EU’s Lenten Period

Christian Lent is the opportune moment for a change of heart, for initiatives of fasting, prayer and sharing. The political Lent of the EU, in this Spring 2011, resembles the beginning of a major conversion in three areas: the euro currency, relations with South Mediterranean populations and governments, nuclear energy.During the extraordinary summit of Euro Area Heads of Government and State past March 11, a series of measures were adopted aimed at the creation of a European stability mechanism in 2013. This new tool, which is very similar to a European monetary fund, without mentioning its name, is meant to provide financial relief to a Euro Area member country experiencing a serious financial crisis, upon request of the interested member country and on condition that all member countries identify a serious threat to the financial stability of the Euro Area as a whole. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has accepted these terms in exchange for a reinforced Stability Pact and of the stipulation of a Pact for the euro currency that binds heads of Government or State to undertake yearly commitments for structural reforms stepping up Euro Area competitiveness. As a result, from now on an economic Euro Area government is active at the heart of EU27, open to other member States, which grants a major role to the European Commission. However, there is a manufacturing defect: in a democratic system, a government acts under parliament control, while the members of the Euro Area economic government would only respond individually to their respective national parliaments.The European Council – that also convened on March 11 for an extraordinary meeting – took a stand on the events in South Mediterranean countries. After having welcomed proposals for democratization put forward by the king of Morocco, the elections for the creation of a constitutional assembly in Tunisia on July 24, and the process of transition towards democracy in Egypt, the European Council firmly condemned colonel Gheddafi’s attacks against the Libyan population and unanimously stated that he must leave. Having failed to reach consensus on a resolution upholding military intervention in Libya, the Council put an end to the emphatic gesticulations of the Union for the Mediterranean and welcomed the European Commission’s proposal of a democracy and prosperity partnership with the interested countries that would follow a differentiated approach, according to the progress of the transition process. Thus, from now on the European Union’s approach is geared towards a response customized to the historical changes underway in the Mashrek and in the Magreb.In its February meeting on Energy, the European Council reached weak conclusions. It failed to step up cooperation with supplying Countries, while scarce progress was made as relates to concerted EU energy policies. Just in time – and fortunately so – the European Parliament blocked a joint French-Czech Republic blueprint endorsing nuclear energy as an opportune energy source. Furthermore, on March 15 the European Energy Commissioner announced the auditing of all nuclear plants in Europe, including those in Russia, Switzerland and Turkey. In the light of the Fukushima disaster and of the public interest on the findings of the investigations, carried out with the same criteria across Europe, this decision could promote the establishment of a true common energy policy.The evident conclusion is that the political Lent of the European Union is not a result of an inner, spontaneous conversion. Rather, it’s the result of external events. The European building progresses when constraints and needs are added on to noble motivations.