Europe the country

Not only is the European Union (EU) struggling to deal with 'internal' affairs such as stumbling economies, it is failing to assert itself on the world stage, despite having ambitions to be a single global player.

With acceptance of the Lisbon Treaty in November, the EU was given the legal status of a State (i.e. an independent country) for the first time, even though many treaty advocates denied this was the case.

Now it’s trying to behave like one, but finding its new status more difficult to implement than to get on paper.

The EU is currently opening embassies all over the world, after the treaty shifted more decision-making power from the individual countries to the EU in Brussels. This power includes defence, security, foreign affairs, criminal justice, judicial cooperation, and energy.

These are areas in which the US – whose former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger famously complained that he didn't know who to call when he had speak to 'Europe' – has been seeking closer cooperation with European countries.

So you would think the US would now be delighted to see one voice representing all of Europe on such matters. Not so, not least because it is still unclear who to call. President Barack Obama announced last week he will not attend the next EU-US summit, an unprecedented snub to EU top brass.

According to US Government statements, he is as confused as everybody else by the new layers of management. The Lisbon Treaty was supposed to 'streamline' this with a new EU President and foreign minister, along with the new EU 'super-state' rules.

Then the EU elites mystified people by selecting an obscure Belgian named Herman van Rompuy for the first job, and Catherine Ashton, a UK politician with no foreign policy experience, for the second.

Lisbon was also meant to make the EU more accountable and democratic, but the two were picked in a conclave-like setting with no public input.

As for streamlining, the EU still has its 6-month revolving member-state 'Presidency', currently held by Spain. And the European Commission, which is the 'executive' (operational) arm of the EU, has also had its own President for many years.

With all these chiefs, according to the US Government, Obama was not sure who he would meet and why.

Lacking a democratic mandate and acting by stealth, the EU elites – namely senior Brussels-based management and some politicians at national level – have sought to make the Union a country in its own right, and a world power. But have they gotten ahead of themselves?

The EU hopes to showcase a new diplomatic model for the rest of the world, where complex links between countries will overcome rivalries and differences, and in turn solve global problems (as has been done to a large extent within the EU).

But in a world of rising powers, and new challenges that require decisive action, this may be premature at best and self-centred naiveté at worst. It also assumes the likes of China, India, Russia, and of course the US, see the world in the same way, rather than acting in self-interest.

Indeed, Obama (who is supposedly Euro-friendly) is not the only one unimpressed. China, India and others completely ignored the EU at the recent Copenhagen climate summit, and foreign policy chief Ashton was criticised for her slack response to the Haiti earthquake.

Undeterred and King-like, Mr Van Rompuy wants to hold his next meeting with heads of government in an old Brussels palace, akin to a Hapsburg emperor gathering his far-flung princes and nobles.

He hopes to lead ambitious plans for full economic union by 2020. Such an idea was not promoted as a possibility by pro-EU elites who maintained Lisbon was just a 'streamlining' exercise.

In fact, some European countries may hesitate at the thought, but it’s too late. In their rush to get the Lisbon Treaty passed, they may have skimmed the complex 300-page document, which gives more power to the EU (Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen introduced the first Irish vote on Lisbon by admitting he didn’t read the Treaty, but advocated a yes vote regardless).

But talk of 'full economic union' might be a bit hopeful. Economies within the EU differ greatly, and many countries are now struggling with domestic economic crises.

It is not clear whether there is enough will or unity to help struggling Greece, Spain and Portugal. Worsening economic trouble across the continent could even jeopardise the Euro currency.

This economic barrier, along with its hazy leadership, could undermine the grander ambitions held by EU elites of being Europe the country – and offering the world a cooperative model for solving global problems.

By Simon Roughneen

Simon Roughneen is an Irish journalist currently based in Southeast Asia (www.simonroughneen.com)