Street Party and the EU

Street Party

We had our usual street party on the first Sunday in July and, as usual, it was a jolly affair. We closed off the street simply by parking cars across the road at either end of the celebrations, with no recourse to road closed or deviation signs; oncomers simply had to find their own way round us. I love the way that the French, so often wedded to bureaucracy, can become total anarchists at the flick of a switch. We brought tables and chairs from the Mairie, food and drink and had a great evening. My house being just 10 metres from the tables and chairs, I made a pot of coffee and brought out a bottle of marc at the end of the meal.

Conversation turned perhaps inevitably to the position of Greece and its financial situation and I stated my view that I thought Greece would be better off out of the euro. I believe Greece desperately needs to revive its economy and can't see how it can do that and pay off its debts in any sensible amount of time. One neighbour suggested that my view might come from British scepticism regarding the EU and said that France, on the other hand, was totally committed: there could never be in France an in/out referendum, he said, such as David Cameron was committed to in the UK. At first I was inclined to defend the UK's commitment to Europe as I believe the EU has greatly enhanced cooperation between the countries involved and beneficially increased freedom of movement, work and residence. And it is easy to buy into the dream of a united Europe. However, when I proposed also that there were very real (and, with Greece in mind) practical problems to be resolved my interlocutor simple resorted to saying essentially that these were inevitable along the way and would be resolved in the long term.

That was the sticking point for me and, I was encouraged to find, for several other of my French friends there. One even despaired loudly at how the EU was making such a mess of a great idea. I find it interesting that an Englishman saying reforms are needed implies a lack of commitment to the EU whereas a Frenchman saying reforms are needed does not. I think that the EU has to face a number of very urgent practical problems now and shows no sign of any inclination to do so. I also think the reason for this lack of inclination derives from the fact that the EU Commission, which holds power, is not elected. It can indulge in the dream without having to answer to an electorate for the practical problems that ensue. I don't believe that an elected assembly would ever have countenanced the invitation to join the EU of the last batch of entrants; that was simply part of the dream, with unconsidered practical consequences. Worse still, these latest entrants have had to commit to embracing the euro at some stage. So the economies of, for example, Germany, France, Romania and Bulgaria must converge in the short-term? It is a fantasy that only a lotus eater could entertain.

I have no idea how the Greece situation will be resolved and the possibility of a smoke and mirrors fudge remain, at my time of writing. My earnest hope is that this will be a wake-up call for the leaders of the EU to temporarily abandon their focus on the dream and address practical issues, those that affect people day-to-day, rather than see the dream collapse in a wrangle of recrimination. Whether the Commission, isolated as it is from day-to-day concerns, is in any mood to do that is another matter.