Nosemonkey's EUtopia

In search of a European identity

January 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on A weekend European roundup

A weekend European roundup

The Economist’s Edward Lucas’s [tag]central Europe[/tag]an diary is well worth a read:

“it is odd that Poland gets so much mockery. There is a kind of snobbish disdain for Europe’s east rooted very deeply in the British psyche. Before writing this diary, your correspondent was trying to do his expenses—a task that represents a weekly high-water mark for a journalist’s numeracy (and, it is rumoured, creativity).

“The Economist’s internal expenses form allows claims in Zambian Kwacha—but not Estonian kroons, or lats (Latvia) or litas (Lithuania). These countries may be members of the [tag]EU[/tag] and NATO, but for all that they are just not important enough. To say nothing of pipsqueak countries such as Ukraine.”

Heading a bit further east, La Russophobe reounds up the ever-growing story of [tag]Russia[/tag]’s apparent continued use of murder as a political weapon in the post-Cold War world, while Siberian Light reports on Russia’s widening investigation into Alexander [tag]Litvinenko[/tag]’s death. Oddly, they seem to be focussing their efforts on London, not Moscow, in the search for the killer…

Back in Europe proper, the French right seems to be pulling together, with overtures to [tag]de Villepin[/tag] being made, and only Jacques [tag]Chirac[/tag]’s final intentions as yet unclear (hell, even his wife doesn’t know yet – and he is on record as saying he’s “thinking about it”). If Chirac stops being a dick and the right continues to unite, [tag]Sarkozy[/tag]’s position should get far, far better – even with the disunity the polls still put him bang on 50/50 with Socialist candidate [tag]Ségolène Royal[/tag]. Now the propaganda machine is in also full swing to paint him (actually, quite fairly) as a different sort of French politician, just as (valid?) criticism of Royal starts kicking into gear, it’s entirely possible he could yet secure the presidency.

Meanwhile in [tag]Brussels[/tag], the formation of a new far Right grouping of MEPs in the [tag]European Parliament[/tag] is being blamed on the EU’s New Year expansion – which could be yet another reason for the EU to start playing a part in the [tag]French election[/tag] campaign, as both Sarkozy and Royal will need to undermine any chances for the National Front’s [tag]Jean Marie Le Pen[/tag] to build up his own far-right support. Still, despite the fascists and nutters (against whom the left is uniting, fighting fascism by trying to ban the buggers and evidently not seeing the irony), the EU has been proving itself a positive thing for the likes of [tag]Bulgaria[/tag] – although considering the shift away from national towards continent-wide identity identified in that article, the rise of the nationalistic far-right in eastern Europe starts to become rather more understandable.

While all that’s going on, in Brussels the wheels of diplomacy continue their daily grind, the EU Observer providing an intriguing insight into the niceties of [tag]European Union[/tag] protocol:

“Looking at the picture of the 27 EU leaders taken at the end of the December summit – the “family photo” – it is clear the host, the then Finnish EU presidency is in the middle. But it is less clear why Finland is flanked by France and Poland or why EU top diplomat Javier Solana is hanging around on the front row.

“The answer is an occult system of diplomatic values which assumes that: the closer you stand to the current EU presidency the more important you are; the second most important figure is the next incoming EU presidency and a national president is always more important than a prime minister.”

With all those complex relationships, it’s little wonder that current EU presidency holder [tag]Germany[/tag] is taking a rather more informal approach:

“German interior minister [tag]Wolfgang Schaeuble[/tag] told journalists in Berlin on Thursday (11 January) that he is setting his hopes on informal chats with colleagues from [tag]France[/tag], the UK, Spain, Italy and Poland to reach EU deals in this sensitive policy area – which includes illegal immigration, cross-border crime and the exchange of citizens’ personal data.

“The so-called G6 meetings, which have been taking place since 2003, are disliked by some smaller member states who feel sidelined by the secretive gatherings, which essentially pre-cook the formal EU meetings.”

Nonetheless, on the other side of the world, the EU is being immitated:

“Southeast Asian leaders gathering in the central Philippine province of Cebu for the annual summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or [tag]Asean[/tag]… They say that they are confident their dream of regional integration — to become the EU of this part of the world — may not be that difficult to attain.”

And no, by “the EU of this part of the world” they don’t mean “riven by petty factionalism, squabbling and distrust and ruled over by a sprawling, largely unaccountable bureaucracy”. They mean it in the positive sense, OK?

To wrap this up, as I’ve just about reached my news and opinion ingestion limit for the day, have a long and seemingly well-considered analysis of [tag]blogs[/tag] and [tag]blogging[/tag]. One of the most wide-ranging and intelligent I’ve seen for quite a while – albeit going a little too far down the path of academia-speak for a hung-over Saturday morning. One to return to and read later, methinks.

January 12, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment

US Embassy mini terrorist attack excitement

Looks like it’s just a single rocket-propelled grenade fired over the wall of the [tag]US Embassy[/tag] in [tag]Athens[/tag] just before 6am (local time) this morning – and most likely by a home-grown lefty group of nutters, rather than the beardy Islamic type. Or just a random psycho who happened to be passing, no one really knows yet.

The BBC has some TV-based speculation (streaming Realplayer popup), and a bit of blurb – there will doubtless be more via English-language Greek news sites Kathimerini, The Macedonian Press Agency, Athens Indymedia and the Athens News Agency for those who are interested.

January 12, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment

An EU Energy roundup

Over at European Tribune, courtesy of Jerome (who seems to know his stuff in this area), there’s a handy summary of reactions to the [tag]EU[/tag]’s new energy plans (documents here). He’s particularly handy explaining the conflict between [tag]environment[/tag]al concerns and the need to help bolster (or should that be break up?) European energy markets, and on the impact these new proposals are likely to have:

“we are left with grand announcements and somewhat ambitious targets that go in the right direction, but an absolute impasse on the implementation, with the business world and the [tag]European Commission[/tag] stuck on their mantra of ‘improving the Internal [tag]Energy[/tag] Market’ and ‘competition’ despite the fact that these will – and already – achieve the exact opposite of what’s targetted.

“Nothing will happen with this Commission. We’ll go on hearing the same arguments, I’ll spend more time deconstructing the same stupid articles, we’ll have more confrontations with Russia, with EDF or similar beasts that lead to nothing useful (but do cause a slow erosion of what made the French model work), and we’ll keep on moving towards the abyss.”

It’s a pessimism that seems to be shared by the Financial Times (on a blog I didn’t realise they had, but which looks rather good):

“Despite all the huffing and puffing in Brussels, I think there is a zero chance that the Commission will end up blowing down the empires built by Eon, GdF and their peers across Europe… In fact, the correct way to look at this week’s events is to see the Commission’s demands as a purely tactical move. Brussels is hoping that it can scare member states and energy groups into accepting at least a more clearer separation of supply and networks”

Here endeth the [tag]energy policy[/tag] discussion, at least for now. Surprisingly interesting, though, the politics of business… Not an area I usually bother with, and certainly not one I understand – may be worth digging into a tad more. (By the way – “more clearer”? Being used by a Financial Times journalist? Whatever next? “Most unique”?)

January 10, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on More on the EU and gas

More on the EU and gas

Via La Russophobe, new(ish) blog Opinionist.com has more on [tag]Europe,/tag]’s dependence on [tag]Russian gas[/tag], noting that

“[tag]Russia[/tag] has an almost perfect monopoly over Europe – [tag]EU[/tag] members and former-Soviet nations – as the sole provider of [tag]Natural Gas[/tag].”

If that sounds alarmist, check out the handy illustration (shamelessly stolen), from a report from the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service, which amply illustrates why this is one of the most serious problems ever to have faced the EU:

Opinionist also cites an Energy Information Agency report which notes that Russia has 42% of the world’s known natural gas supplies, as well as a fair number of other interesting links. Worth a gander for a perspective from across the pond – and looks like one worth adding to the blogroll…

January 9, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment

The EU and Energy

Because our nutty neighbours [tag]Russia[/tag] and [tag]Belarus[/tag] are playing up again, energy disputes are in the spotlight once again. If the [tag]EU[/tag]’s largest economy’s being hit, guess what? Yep – a major overhaul of EU [tag]energy policy[/tag] is on the way. (Actually, that’s a hang-on from previous problems with eastern supplies, but still… Handy coincidence, eh?)

I’m certainly no expert on energy policy, so will mostly avoid this, except in the most general terms. One thing is certain, though – the struggle for power (electrical, not policial, lest my anti-EU chums get confused) is very likely to be the single biggest concern for the EU over the coming years, and could see all other concerns (the constitution, institutional reform, deregulation and the like) pushed to one side yet again.

The fact that these disputes are kicking off now may also mean – if you’re a believer in [tag]Peak Oil[/tag] theory – that the EU could well be the first part of the world to start feeling the impact as global fossil fuel supplies dwindle. Will she be able to get her act together enough to cope, or will the various Member States end up saying “sod it”, and negotiating unilaterally with our eastern, fuel-rich neighbours instead? Has energy got the power to end the EU?

More from EurActiv: EU to unveil plans for energy ‘industrial revolution’, The European Union’s Quest for a Common Energy Foreign Policy, Brussels seeks greater powers for national energy watchdogs, and Are people ready for EU’s energy revolution?

January 9, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Public Service Announcement

Public Service Announcement

Gary Andrews, formerly of Coffee and PC (to which I won’t link, as he deleted it and the address has been taken over by hardcore porn merchants), has a new blog. Well worth a gander. The new blog, not the hardcore porn, obviously. (If you’re at work or the missus is looking, at any rate…)

January 8, 2007
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments

Philosophica Nasalis larvatus follow-up

A couple of responses to my lengthy, deliberately pretentiously-titled explanation of my attitude towards the [tag]EU[/tag]. First from a fellow [tag]pro-EU[/tag] type, Nanne of DJ Nozem, who has a slightly different – yet broadly similar – take, and argues

“The things that characterise the EU are no longer about whether the power lies in [tag]Brussels[/tag], or with the Member States, or trade-offs between the increase of power and the decrease of independence implicit in pooling. Rather, the EU has created new models which encapsulate power in networks, or regimes. The control over certain topics and decisions is no longer in the hands of individual Member States, but it has not been transferred to a supranational state — it is made part of a cooperative process… The [tag]European Union[/tag]’s future role should be to coordinate, facilitate and enhance these various cooperative networks.”

And then comes the [tag]anti-EU[/tag] Chris of Strange Stuff, who reckons that what I am “basically saying [is] that with enough reform the EU could become something good, just as with enough plastic surgery I could become Miss World”, before arguing that significant reform is so unlikely as to be all but impossible:

“Only by getting rid of these two assumptions about the role of the EU, that the EU deals in the minutae of life and once it starts regulating an area only it can regulate that area, are expunged from its culture can any reform towards a more localised EU be seriously contemplated. But they are what has made the EU what it is today, they are deeply rooted into it’s structures… The problem is so deeply rooted that it cannot be removed without the complete destruction of the EU as it currently is and then beginning again from scratch. If you want to save the EU you have to destroy it.”

Which all sounds fair enough, basing your take – as Chris does – on how the EU has mostly behaved in the past. Personally, though, I maintain a vague hope that the current shifts towards [tag]deregulation[/tag] under the [tag]Barroso[/tag] Commission may be the first tentative steps in the right direction.

Update: Another response from the anti-EU Ken of EU Realist which in places misses my vague distinctions between the actual EU, the hypothetical EU of the founders, the hypothetical EU currently – seemingly – envisaged by most pro-EU types, and the hypothetical EU envisaged by me. But considering how rapidly I wrote the thing, that’s hardly surprising. (What is surprising, however – in fact, it never ceases to amaze me – is that people are still bringing the visions of [tag]Jean Monnet[/tag], formulated half a century ago after the most devastating war in history and in the shadow of imminent nuclear armageddon, as if they were somehow still valid, relevant, or being acted on… I find this particular ongoing anti-EU [tag]conspiracy theory[/tag] bizarre to say the least…) He does, however, make the very good point that, when it comes to the EU,

“there is absolutely no mechanism available for the people to change the direction because the people have been decisively omitted from the very beginning”

On which, I imagine, more at a later date. He is, however, pretty much right on that one.

But – my dear anti-EU chums – remember this: nine times out of ten when I’m positing reforms of the EU, I’m fully aware that said reforms are highly unlikely to happen with the way the thing currently works. But it’s really no less unlikely than the UK pulling out of the union…

And in any case, if the only way to reform the EU is to start again from scratch then I’d personally have no problems with that – a good spring clean is often far better achieved by simply chucking everything out and keeping your fingers crossed that you don’t mislay anything of importance. Hell, if they get around to it I may even offer them my services as Dictator for Life. (Actually, sod that, “Emperor of Europe” has a nice ring to it…)

Update 2: And another, from the (generally) pro-EU MatGB of Voting Taktix, who notes:

“The EU cannot be a truly functioning democracy, because it lacks a demos… it has become used to being a consultation of the elites, a 20th Century top-down form of democracy. Given that the UK still suffers from this problem, is it fair to critique and blame the EU for a common problem? …Both the UK and the EU need genuine, democratic, decentralising reform. In order to get it, we’ll need to work together to wake our politicians up.”

Which in turn reminded me of this old post on democratising the EU, like wot I wrote back in June 2005, and still mostly agree with.

January 8, 2007
by Nosemonkey
16 Comments

A question for free trade lovers

In what way is the hope that unfettered [tag]free trade[/tag] will enable the market naturally to come to provide all that is necessary in any way more likely to work than the [tag]communist[/tag] [tag]utopia[/tag], so frequently dismissed as being “against human nature”?

(Sorry – it’s because another film I saw the other day was this, which has made me all confused and anti-capitalist for a bit. Largely because I’m highly envious of the vast amounts of cash all these business types seem to be able to build up, the bastards…)

January 8, 2007
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments

A discovery, apropos of nothing

I’ve spent the last few days watching a vast number of war films for an article I’m doing (deadline today… time to start writing… damn…). I’ve done the whole range, from Lawrence of Arabia and The Birth of a Nation through Dr Stranglove, The Guns of Navarone, Barry Lyndon, The Battle of Algiers, Ice Station Zebra, Black Hawk Down, Apocalypse Now, and God alone knows how many others – including a few that are only tangentially war films, like The Manchurian Candidate. Then, having pondered various other old favourites, like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, All Quiet on the Western Front, Duck Soup, A Bridge Too Far, The General, The Longest Day, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Zulu and the like, I have finally reached a conclusion. My favourite war film (at the moment, at least) is Starship Troopers.

January 4, 2007
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments

2007 Predictions

Thanks to that McKeating, I’ve spent the last 24 hours slaughtering goats and throwing their entrails around the flat, as well as sneaking in to Highgate cemetery to dig up some knuckle bones, in a desperate attempt to live up to expectation and provide six accurate predictions for the coming year. So here we go, then:

1) The [tag]German EU preseidency[/tag] will achieve precisely nothing of any substance. Neither will the Portugese presidency after that.

2) The Socialists and [tag]Ségolène Royal[/tag] will win the [tag]French presidential election[/tag]. France’s attitude and policies will change not a jot – but right-wing bloggers in the US will suddenly find themselves experts in the policies and history of the Parti Socialiste, and make highly convincing cases (bolstered by links to the EU Referendum blog, which will unearth some “damning” photographs of some description) that France is now more evil and Communist than even the USSR under Stalin (because “at least the Soviets fought the Nazis – the French just ran away”), and that it is the world’s worst example of a “Dhimmi state” and threatens the very existence of everything we (they) hold dear when Royal is seen shaking hands with a man of Arabic descent on a visit to the Paris suburbs.

3) The accession of [tag]Romania[/tag] and [tag]Bulgaria[/tag] will have precisely no serious impact on the current functioning of the [tag]EU[/tag], either economically or institutionally

4) When [tag]Tony Blair[/tag] leaves office, all senior European politicians will hold a massive party to celebrate, doing more for further integration in one night than has been achieved in the last ten years after a succession of incredible breakthroughs caused by the sheer bubbly brilliance of the champagne laid on by France. But the next day they’ll all be too hungover to remember anything, and everything will carry on as normal.

5) The accession of Romania and Bulgaria will prompt umpteen scare stories about impoverished gypsies stealing our jobs/daughters/sheep/caravans in the right-wing press Europe-wide during slow news weeks

6) A minor EU directive concerning digital television will be interpreted by some idiotic minister/mandarin in Whitehall in such a way that they try to force us all to have microchips surgically implanted into our skulls to ensure that they can keep track of just how many hours of Price Drop TV we watch every day. Those who do not watch the requisite ten hours of television per week supposedly demanded by the [tag]European Commission[/tag] will be given ASBOs and denied all access to benefits, rubbish collection, the NHS, and their fellow human beings until such a time as they have “txted 2 w1n” – or rung up the lovely Abbi and Traci on Television X to ask them to run their elbows together while calling your (made-up) name and sticking their tongues out in the most unerotic way imaginable.

January 3, 2007
by Nosemonkey
13 Comments

Philosophicae Nasalis larvatus*

Even with the reduced readership brought by the recent switch to a new address, two largely contradictory posts on the [tag]EU[/tag] within the space of a few days have caused some concern. Personally, I’d have called them cynical and idealistic rather than “pessimistic” and “optimistic”, but still…

Perhaps an explanation is due… Though I’m afraid that, due to the rampant inconsistencies in my approach to politics, my utter lack of a unified value system, and the fact that I haven’t really thought it all through properly (the following will be written entirely off the top of my head), there’s no way in hell that it’s going to be anywhere near as well considered as this laudable creed… But still, worth a pop. It will, however, probably end up rather lengthy, I’m afraid…
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January 2, 2007
by Nosemonkey
7 Comments

Why is Jeffrey Archer still a peer? (And another meme)

A question that has been asked innumerable times, I know, but if dangerous driving is enough to lose you an MBE, merely a symbolic honour, surely convictions for perjury and perverting the course of justice should be enough to prevent one from being a member of the [tag]House of Lords[/tag], an honour which brings with it actual power?

And then, thanks to Martin Stabe (bastard…), below the fold lies another meme – five things you didn’t know about me:
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