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  Summit Hopping: Germany Prepares to Take Helm of EU and G8

Summit Hopping Germany Prepares to Take Helm of EU and G8

By Ralf Beste and Hans-Jürgen Schlamp

Part 2: Part 2: Saving the European Project

A Europe divided over its future

But what will really decide the success of Merkel’s presidency, will be how well she deals with the question of the EU constitution. The Union’s heads of state and government have so far been unable to solve the central questions of the distribution of power in a satisfactory manner. How many votes should each member state have? When should a veto be possible? Should Europe speak with the voice of one president and one foreign minister?

In 1997, during the summit of Amsterdam, discussion of the problems was postponed. In 2000, in Nice, there was a decision, but one which left almost everyone dissatisfied. In 2004 a solution to the constitution was finally found in Brussels, only to be rejected in referenda in the Netherlands and France. Politicians in Berlin believe that the constitution would also be knocked back by the Poles, the Czechs and the British -- they just haven’t been asked yet. In fact the British have remained entirely steadfast in their role as euroskeptics. Britain's former minister of state for Europe, Douglas Alexander probably best defined how the EU is seen in the United Kingdom: “a close community of independent nation states, working together where cooperation can add value." For that, a constitution is not necessary. Now governments across Europe are waiting for Angela Merkel to present a new draft. But the outlook is poor.

The other powerful EU states France and Britain are now weaker because their long-term leaders, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair, are at the twilight of their political careers. There is no point in Merkel undertaking any concrete initiative before the French presidential elections in May -- and there will only be a few weeks after it when the chancellor will be able to come up with anything.

Faith in the European idea is rapidly fading anyway, as a survey published last week by the European Commission revealed. Whereas over 70 percent of all Europeans supported the EU project at the end of the 1990s, today that figure is only 53 percent. And only 33 percent of Europeans believe that the EU is on the right track.

So will Merkel turn things round? Even members of her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party view this as almost inconceivable. “That would be like achieving the impossible,” says Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

A silver lining?

Nevertheless, the chancellor and her foreign minister are hanging on to a glimmer of hope. In early December, Merkel gathered her Berlin staff and the German EU ambassadors together to come up with a plan of attack. The most important result of the confidential meeting was that as much of the original substance of the existing contract as possible should be kept -- after all, the agreement has already been ratified by 18 states.

According to sources in the chancellery, during the first three months of 2007 Merkel will conduct face-to-face meetings with her 26 fellow European leaders to find common ground in order to get the constitution back on track. Meetings will also be set up with potential French presidential candidates -- discreetly, of course, as no one wants to insult Chirac. In this way, says one advisor, Merkel is trying to work out where the "absolute red line" on the constitution is. To all intents and purposes this group of people would take the scissors to the draft constitution until it is acceptable to all.

The first fruits of Merkel’s efforts will be on show on March 25, which the chancellor is describing as “the dramatic high-point of the German presidency.” At a special summit in the Zeughaus building of the German Historical Museum in the center of Berlin, Europe will be celebrating the 50th birthday of the Treaty of Rome, the document that founded the European Economic Community that would later grow to become the European Community and, ultimately, today's European Union. Merkel believes the event will provide a good opportunity to put new life into the European project, which has languished in the new millennium.

The government will hold a public festival, open museums until late at night, organize bus tours to 50 German cities and invite special guests to a performance given by Sir Simon Rattle at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. There will also be a "Berlin declaration" and a speech by Angela Merkel.

In order for Merkel’s EU presidency to go down in history as a success, it will be necessary not only for her June schedule to get the go-ahead, but also for a new agreement to revive the constitution to be ratified by all 27 states. And speed is of the essence, so that the next European parliament can be elected in 2009 according to the new regulations. Otherwise, says the chancellor, it will a “miserable election campaign.”