Saturday, April 02, 2005
Reconciliation of worldviews - whose reponsibility?
Whose responsibility is it to reconcile worldviews, at least within the EU?
"The European Union now participates at the G8 Summit and is represented by the President of the European Commission and the leader of the country that holds the Presidency of the European Union. When a European member of the G8 hosts the Summit at the same time as holding the EU Presidency, the two roles are combined." http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/g7_g8/intro/index.htm
The presidency is therefore expected to reconcile the worldviews of EU countries. Luxembourg has the presidency of the EU for the first half of 2005. The UK for the second half, when it will represent the EU at the G8 Summit in July 2005. At the Summit, the UK will be expected to promote the worldview of the EU.
There is much reconciliation to be done before July. The worldview coming from the French government, for example, is that global capitalism should be opposed. This departure from the norm not only questions whether the EU endorses the global economic system; but also questions the EU constitution.
"In the corridors, Mr Chirac was also heard to say that "ultra-liberalism is the new communism", a dig at Mr Barroso's [EC president] free-market instincts. . . Then in a brutal aside, [Mr Barroso] tried to make sense of Europe's baffling political alignments, where centre-left leaders such as Tony Blair of Britain or Marek Belka of Poland supported liberal reforms, while centre-right politicians such as Mr Chirac opposed them. . . This high-profile feud could have serious consequences. The Chirac-Barroso battles seem unlikely to bolster the Yes campaign in the referendum." http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e752945c-9fb9-11d9-b355-00000e2511c8.html
"The European Union now participates at the G8 Summit and is represented by the President of the European Commission and the leader of the country that holds the Presidency of the European Union. When a European member of the G8 hosts the Summit at the same time as holding the EU Presidency, the two roles are combined." http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/g7_g8/intro/index.htm
The presidency is therefore expected to reconcile the worldviews of EU countries. Luxembourg has the presidency of the EU for the first half of 2005. The UK for the second half, when it will represent the EU at the G8 Summit in July 2005. At the Summit, the UK will be expected to promote the worldview of the EU.
There is much reconciliation to be done before July. The worldview coming from the French government, for example, is that global capitalism should be opposed. This departure from the norm not only questions whether the EU endorses the global economic system; but also questions the EU constitution.
"In the corridors, Mr Chirac was also heard to say that "ultra-liberalism is the new communism", a dig at Mr Barroso's [EC president] free-market instincts. . . Then in a brutal aside, [Mr Barroso] tried to make sense of Europe's baffling political alignments, where centre-left leaders such as Tony Blair of Britain or Marek Belka of Poland supported liberal reforms, while centre-right politicians such as Mr Chirac opposed them. . . This high-profile feud could have serious consequences. The Chirac-Barroso battles seem unlikely to bolster the Yes campaign in the referendum." http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e752945c-9fb9-11d9-b355-00000e2511c8.html
# posted by IJ @ 4:02 AM 
