Obama Adviser Says Sharia Law Is 'Misunderstood'
Worried about President Blair of the EU? It may be about to get even worse
For all the hoopla about the EU presidency, the foreign minister could have more power, writes Con Coughlin.
If you think the Foreign Office is useless at the moment, just wait until the EU gets its way and sets up a "High Representative" for foreign and security policy – or a foreign minister, to you and me.
The FCO certainly has many failings, from its strange obsession with the EU's unfathomable bureaucracy to its barely concealed bias towards brutal Arab autocracies. But at least it's on our side. Whether you're an inebriated Brit caught indulging in illicit sexual activity on a beach in Dubai, or an adventurous tourist abducted in central Africa, Her Majesty's diplomatic service can usually be relied upon to come to the rescue. The best officers on our diplomatic staff work tirelessly for our country's interests, whether it is drafting hard-hitting Security Council resolutions on sanctions against Iran, or making sure that Britain is looked upon favourably by the latest resident of the White House.
But now, here comes Brussels. As the Lisbon Treaty edges ever closer to formal ratification by all 27 EU member states, much of the attention has focused on whether Tony Blair will succeed in his somewhat dubious ambition to become the EU's first president. Until a few months ago, he looked to be a shoo-in, having managed to secure the backing of both Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel.
More recently, his candidacy has attracted opposition from two important constituencies in European politics. The federalists, such as Jean-Luc Dehaene, a Belgian MEP and former prime minister, question Mr Blair's credentials to lead the EU on the basis of his failure to get Britain to join the euro, and Britain's opt-out from the Schengen agreement, which asked the British government effectively to surrender control over its borders. Mr Blair is also something of a hate figure for many on the Left of European politics over his close alliance with the US, and involvement in the Iraq war. Consequently, these two factions are colluding to promote alternative, socialist candidates, such as Paavo Lipponen, the former prime minister of Finland, and Herman Van Rompuy, the current Belgian prime minister.
The smart euros are still on Mr Blair getting the job, so long as he can continue to count on the backing of the Germans and the French. That is likely for two reasons. The first is that Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel both agree that the EU's new chief needs to be a commanding individual who can more than hold his own in dealings with the major world leaders, such as Barack Obama or China's Hu Jintao. But the other, possibly more important factor is that both the French and the Germans are casting covetous eyes at the position of Higher Representative, which they regard as being potentially more influential than the presidency.
This is not just because the latter will be more of a ceremonial than an executive position. When Lisbon comes into effect – which could be later this month, if the Czech Republic completes its painstaking ratification process – the Higher Representative will have responsibility for developing and formalising the EU's relations with the outside world.
The commission has already been hard at work preparing for the day when it can claim to be a sovereign entity in its own right, establishing a network of EU missions around the globe. In some parts of the world, such as Latin America, their staffing levels are greater than those of most European embassies. The representative will also have the authority to negotiate treaties on behalf of the EU, which would give him greater powers than the president to shape its destiny.
Nor is the Lisbon set-up the limit of the EU's ambitions. At present, the treaty stipulates that the office of the Higher Representative must consult and work with the diplomatic services of member states, such as Britain's Foreign Office. But there is nothing that obliges him to act on their recommendations. The fact that the federalist European People's Party, the largest group in the European parliament, is actively pressing for the EU's overseas missions to be given embassy status provides a clear indication of the direction in which the EU's diplomatic ambitions lie. The EPP also wants the EU to have a seat on the UN Security Council, taking the place of either Britain or France, or both.
Assuming Mr Blair's bid for the presidency is successful, the early frontrunner for the post of Higher Representative is Wolfgang Schaüble, the German interior minister. His main claim to fame on the European stage was his proposal in the mid-1990s for a two-speed Europe, with France and Germany hogging the fast lane and non-eurozone countries such as Britain left stranded on the hard shoulder.
There is a lot of horse-trading to be done between the member states before these positions are finally filled – most likely by the end of this year. But whatever the outcome, the project for ever-greater European integration is about to take a giant leap forward.
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