The New Europe / European Union R. James Ferguson 2004
Partial interdependency already exists between the UK and EU economies
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- Euroland was absorbing up to 48% of UK exports
- European identity relatively weak in British identity constructions, the reality is that differential Welsh, Scottish and English affiliations
- Practical differences in policy between the UK and different European governments also emerge on a regular basis
- UK is still faced with bridging the gap between major European orientations and US policies
- Through 2003-2005 it is clear that British policy will strongly affect the European process as a whole
- References and Bibliography
| Partial interdependency already exists between the UK and EU economies, indicating that uncontrolled currency fluctuations will not only impose transaction costs on many British firms, but that the relative success of exports and long-term investments in industry could be negatively affected. From the late 1990s through 2003 Euroland was absorbing up to 48% of UK exports, compared to the US's 16% (Toynbee & Walker 2001, p146). The tourist industry, and some companies that deal intensely with European firms, have already had to become able to denominate in euro notes and coins, involving them in small but real extra costs (Rickard 2002). Many unions in the UK also want to join the euro at the right time in order to boost manufacturing and jobs (see Gallagher 2000). The positive transfer to the euro in Ireland has also been closely watched by analysts (Stewart 2000). At the same time, the US remained UK’s strongest single national trading partner, with 17-18% of trade (stronger than Germany or France, with 10-12% of trade each, see DFAT 2004), and some argued that the pound fluctuated more closely with the U.S. dollar than the euro, since ‘the pound has hovered about 10 cents above or below a somewhat stable rate of $1.55 for five years’ (Travel Weekly 2003).
5) The sovereignty issue is regularly raised by Eurosceptics, with the view of the pound as a strong symbol of national identity. Although not decisive, this argument will be one of the factors in any future referendum. Countries such as Denmark would watching the outcome for British policy very closely. Not only is European identity relatively weak in British identity constructions, the reality is that differential Welsh, Scottish and English affiliations makes this a complex task for governments seeking a positive tilt towards Europe (see further below). Numerous small areas of divergence can still create ongoing tensions between the European process of deepening integration and the sense of Great Britain as having a unique place in world affairs. Practical differences in policy between the UK and different European governments also emerge on a regular basis. These included, for example: - 1) The crushing impact of 'mad-cow-disease' (BSE in cows, and related in humans CJD) and the later 'foot-and-mouth' outbreaks had a crushing impact on the British beef industry, as well as causing severe tensions with the EU and France in particular over sustained bans on imports (Toynbee & Walker 2001, p147). For a short time Britain was even willing to use the 'empty chair' approach of not participating in some EU meetings, slowing down integration processes through the use of a kind of de fact veto. In large measure, the British government in 1996, under then Prime Minister Major, viewed the EU initial ban in 1996 as a mixture of hysteria and a cynical protection of the beef market of other producers (Major 1999, p651). However, the poor handling of the problem by the Conservative government may have helped contribute to its collapse in the elections of 1997 (see Shaw 2001). 2) Britain and France have had recurring tensions through 2001-2002 over asylum policies and the handling of refuge and immigration issues (see earlier lectures). One sore point has been the Sangatte refugee camp, not far from the Eurotunnel that links Britain with the continent. One a nightly basis, refugees sought to leave Sangatte and enter the UK, leading to mutual complaints: "France has complained that Britain is a tempting destination for refugees because of the generous assistance it offers them. Britain protests that France does little to stop refugees making their way illegally through France and is only too happy to see them move to the UK." (Mallet 2002). With a new centre-right government in Paris, France agreed to close Sangatte in return for tighter British asylum laws (Mallet 2002). However, in the broader context of Europe, it is still clear that real consensus on asylum and refugee issues is unlikely in the short term. Some ongoing EU and British sensitivity to migration issues has been experienced over the UK’s minority of 200,000 Roma people (‘gypsies’) and fears of increased Roma migration from Eastern Europe, while in 2000 Britain was cited by the European Commission Against Racism as having engaged in forced evictions of this minority group from common land and caravan sites (Este 2003). 3) The status of the British colony of Gibraltar, which has been claimed by Spain as its sovereign territory, has also been a focus of recent controversy (see lecture 4). In early July 2002 Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told 'MPs that London and Madrid had reached a broad agreement of the future of the Rock' in which sovereignty is shared, a policy not very popular with its 27,000 inhabitants (BBC 2002a). The Conservative opposition has made it clear that it would not feel bound by any such deal (BBC 2002a), suggesting that the issue of Gibraltar could provide the basis of nagging tensions between the UK and Spain in the future. Local feeling also ran against Spanish rule, with ‘a November 2002 referendum where 99 percent of Gibraltarians rejected joint-sovereignty’ (Ho 2004). One view puts this issue in the context of wider European concerns, but may be drawing too much on parallels with Hong Kong: - In light of the future of Europe and the eventual political integration into the European Union, it seems to be in Britain's best interest to push for joint-sovereignty and for Spain to accept. The importance of Anglo-Spanish relations can not be undervalued, however, as a diplomatic lever against a possible Franco-German alliance in the European Union. Nonetheless, provisions must be made--albeit gradual ones--for the return of Gibraltar to the sovereignty of Spain with specific timetables and under UN auspices. (Ho 2004) 4) These factors, combined with the more serious issues of the UK still being outside of the euro zone, and the continued special relationship with the U.S., have fed into the debate concerning British and European identity structures. In general terms, the sense of being European or sharing in a European identity remains relatively low in Britain. British identity remains strong compared to the sense of EU identity, with the EU being among the least attached in Europe in affiliation terms, with only 37% fairly attached to EU (Field 1996a; Field 1996b; Field 2001). Fears continued that European unification could lead to a loss of identity and culture (hight levels of 68% in some surveys, Field 2001). Likewise, the images of Europe in British television coverage (as well as in mainstream papers and journals) tends to send mixed about Europe that does not bode well for UK solidarity with a any emerging European identity (Gavin 2000). 5) In the medium term, the UK is still faced with bridging the gap between major European orientations and US policies driven by security needs, including the following factors (Lundestad 2003, p281): -
On this basis it is possible to speak at least of a ‘transatlantic drift’, if not yet a post-Atlanticist period (see Lundestad 2003; Steinberg 2003). In the long run, the failure of the UK to more fully enter the EU process (e.g. the euro, the EU Constitution, the Schengen agreement) would be a considerable disability for a Europe that is converging among its older members, and now rapidly enlarging as well. On this basis, a British 'opt-out' could well signal a track towards a two tier Europe - a core of close integration surrounded by a looser group of states with less influence on central EU policies (Toynbee & Walker 2001, p148). It is not certain that this would be stable in the long run. Likewise, serious opposition to the EU Constitution could reverse the trend for ongoing integration in an expanding Europe. Through 2003-2005 it is clear that British policy will strongly affect the European process as a whole. The Blair government will need to make serious and difficult decisions in the 2004-2006 period – further delay will already have had a serious impact on European processes.
Quite good European, British and world coverage of news will be found in the Financial Times (London), located on the Web at http://news.ft.com/home/rw/ BBC News on the Web has a wide range of resources on the UK and Europe, accessible via http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Numerous UK controversies are discussed each week in The Guardian, accessible via www.guardianweekly.co.uk The United Kingdom government webpage is located at http://www.ukonline.gov.uk Further Reading BENTLEY, Tom “Tony Blair, Issue by Issue”, Le Monde diplomatique, February 2003 [Internet Access via http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/index.html] FIELD, Heather “Creating a European Identity”, Paper presented at the Regulating Identities Conference, Surfers Paradise, QLD, 3-4 October, 1996b (Vertical File) GIDDENS, Anthony "Just Carry on Being New", New Statesman, June 11, 2001 [Internet Access via www.findarticles.com] LUNDESTAD, Geir The United States and Western Europe Since 1945, Oxford, OUP, 2003 STEINBERG, James B. “An Elective Partnership: Salvaging Transatlantic Relations”, Survival, 45 no. 2, Summer 2003, pp113-146 [Access via BU Library Catalogue]
BAINBRIDGE, Timothy The Penguin Companion Guide to European Union, London, Penguin, 1998 BENTLEY, Tom “Tony Blair, Issue by Issue”, Le Monde diplomatique, February 2003 [Internet Access via http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/md/en/index.html]
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