European Integration: Sharing of Experiences

9. CONCLUSION

466 European Integration 466 9 CONCLUSION OVERVIEW Europe has been tremendously successful in its integration, when one bears in mind the obstacles from a war-torn and decrepit Europe, still in the mould of the old fashioned nation state, but which today has turned into the European Union, a supranational construction. In analysing the European integration, several key issues arise. The first one is the decisive choice between the supranational model and the intergovernmental model. By tradition international cooperation has followed the intergovernmental model, respecting the full sovereignty of participating member states and applying unanimity in decision making. Weak institutions, if any, form part of this model. The Europeans chose the supranational model and acquiesced with the pooling of sovereignty to exercise it in common. Strong institutions and international rule of the law are part of this model. It is difficult to escape the observation that the supranational model depends on a high degree of trust and mutual confidence among member states. It is also a projection of the fundamental characteristics of the political model in the nation state to the international level. Such a rules-based organization goes a long way towards emulating the national community founded on the rule of law. Some would add consensus and compromise to the characteristics. 09 Euro Integration Ch 9 4/8/08, 9:28 AM 466 Conclusion 467 To shape such a kind of international organization, which in many ways breaks the traditional mould, not only trust, but also a feeling of sharing the same destiny, must be at hand. This has so far been the case for member states of the European Union, even with the enlargement from the original six to twenty-seven in 2007. Many nation states around the globe would find it difficult, and in some cases, beyond reality, to allow international institutions such powers, in particular, when recalling that rivals, competitors, even traditional enemies, may sit around the table. It is, however, encouraging to detect a growing interest in this model. Time will show whether some of its vital characteristics can be used outside the European geographical sphere. If so, nation states may be on their way to realizing how globalization changes the traditional pattern not only of economics, but also of politics. The second issue is the impact of economic globalization. The growing interdependence shows unequivocally that no nation state, not even the United States, can diverge substantially from the global economic development. The outstanding question is how to exercise political control over the global economy in the same way as national governments used it to exercise control over the domestic economy. One of the main schisms seen again and again is that economics operates globally, while the political steering mechanism is kept on a national level. This asymmetry is untenable in the longer run. Sooner or later political control has to be exercised internationally. The European model is one of the answers to how it can be done, but it also illustrates the political and administrative difficulties, and not the least, how sensitive the population is when confronted with the issue of where and by whom political control is exercised. Shifting political control from the national to the international level reveals a dichotomy between the elite, thinking and acting by logic and reason, and the majority of the population, being more susceptible to emotions and feelings. Experience tells us that it is not enough to have a full-fledged democratic model fulfilling all objective criteria if a large part of the population perceives it as the bureaucrat’s and not the people’s model. Perceptions may matter more than reality. The third issue is the imperative of pursuing economic interests internationally or globally and the wish of the people to maintain and shape their own daily culture. Very few, if any, nation states may be able to safeguard their economic interests without taking an active part in economic globalization. People accept this even if they grumble from time to time when some of the problems associated with economic internationalization (for example, financial 09 Euro Integration Ch 9 4/8/08, 9:28 AM 467 468 European Integration crisis caused by capital movements or loss of jobs caused by outsourcing) surface, but, by and large, economic internationalization is not contested — not yet anyway. The rising inequality in the slipstream of the model may be its Achilles heel, and unless it is redressed so that...