Examining the Potential of Permanent European Integration

1 “[The] 'European Union' may be a response to history, but it can never be a substitute” : Examining the Potential of Permanent European Integration Allison Brown Introduction to European Studies Dr. Blackler 11 May 2020 1 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, pg. 831 Ever developing, Europe at its worst crippled by conflict and oppressive towards minorities and colonists but at its best collaborated as a region for utilitarianism of its citizens. Ultimately, Europe’s collective nature and strength resides from its past; “Europe, bound together by the signs and symbols of its terrible past, is a remarkable accomplishment; but it remains forever mortgaged to that past. If Europeans are to maintain this vital link—if Europe's past is to continue to furnish Europe's present with admonitory meaning and moral purpose— 2 then it will have to be taught afresh with each passing generation” . In order for Europe to continue on its newfound path of development and collaboration, it is essential for its citizens to understand what has occurred for the region to strengthen, as it has in recent times, together. The goals of this essay are to briefly examine Europe’s complex past and develop an understanding of how the formation of the European Union and the Schengen Accords have transformed Europe to answer the question as to if Europe is becoming permanently integrated. 3 From the Franco-Russian War starting in 1870 to World War II4 ending seventy-five years ago, Europe has a complex past riddled with national anguish and bad blood. At the core of every conflict, regardless of its apparent cause, were nationalistic tendencies. These impulses to protect one’sFatherland 5 if German ran deep and if British ‘collective othering’ could have compelled “othering” of minority populations. This nationalism, Anderson reckons, is constructed through imagined communities where its people are committed to an imagined community. Anderson ponders why an individual of a society is willing to forsake their own well-being to devote themselves to their nation; “ … what makes the shrunken imaginings of 6 recent history, scarcely over two centuries, generate such colossal sacrifices?” . Ultimately, 2 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 831) 3 Blackler, Adam. “From “Thinking” to “Embodying” the Nation” 12 February, 2020 4 Blackler, Adam. “The Abstract Nakedness of Being Human” 5 Fichte, Johann Gottlieb. “Addresses to the German Nation.” In Nations and Identities: Classic Readings, 1808 6 Anderson, Benedict R. OG. Imagined Communities. London, 1982 (pg.7) 1 these shrunken images lead members of an imagined community to put Fatherland their before themselves. In 1882, Ernest Renan understood that, “Race is confused with nation and a sovereignty analogous to that of really existing peoples7.…Race, ” a socially derived concept, and nationalism could be the defining factors of one’s life; where they lived, worked, and worshiped predetermined by the colour of their skin and their nation of birth. These nationalistic tendencies developed from race and other social constructs have proven to be challenges for a fully and a permentely integrated Europe. Attempts at international collaboration are sprinkled throughout European history from various peace treaties to end conflicts to the Berlin Conference of8.1855 None being as transformative to interstate relations as the Maastricht Treaty signed in 1992 that created the European Union. In its twenty-eight years the Union has signed 27 member states and create the Euro (€)9 as its official currency. Since then, progress and strife have both occurred. In order to best understand the Maastricht Treaty’s impacts on the region and if permanent integration is occurring, it is beneficial to examine the European Union through both the union’s advantages and disadvantages. It is undeniable that the formation of the European Union has worked to integrate states to avoid conflict; “By the end of the century … the European Union was so intertwined and interdependent that armed conflict, while never impossible, had become somehow inconceivable”10. Through economic trade relations, free travel within member states, and treaties between the member states of the E.U., conflict would be detrimental to not just one state if conflict would occur, but all. Thus, interdependence of the member states works to ensure cooperation and trade for the benefit of all member states. Being a member of the European 7 Renan, Ernest. What Is a Nation?, 1882 (p.42) 8 Blackler, Adam. “The Racial Boundaries of the Colonial State” 19 February 2020 9 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 759) 10 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 733-734) 2 Union allows for one’s citizens to move, study, and live freely throughout the states. The Single Market system between the member states allows for goods and services to occur with no out of country tariffs. Through the collective strength and authority of 27 members, Europe can act with more authority together on the world stage to champion its member-states and human rights in the region. Why the European Union still continues to be effective and prevent conflict is due to its inherent individual autonomy still granted to its body, “The member-states of the European 11 Union remained completely independent units in a voluntary association” and the public awareness that has allowed every citizen to take part in something larger than their own nationality, “ … provoked an unprecedented level of interest in what had hitherto been the 12 obscure workings of the European Union and its anonymous bureaucracy” . The collaboration of the E.U., the benefits of the Single Market system, and public interest in the Union have led to a better, and more collaborative Europe. However, the E.U. has also had its own downfalls. Some failures of the European Union are the lack of inclusion for Eastern European countries and economic struggles. Part of its failure in including Eastern states comes from the requirements to become a member state outlined in the Maastricht Treaty, “ … rigid requirements for a common currency and its insistence that all aspiring member-states integrate into their systems of governance the acquis communautaire, the rapidly burgeoning code of European practices, was the ultimate bureaucratic exclusion zone … the EU in practice sought to keep them [candidates from Eastern 13 Europe] out as long as possible” . These strict requirements favoured Western Europe and put eastern countries at a disadvantage for candidacy and acceptance, leaving them out of trade deals and political congregations that would make impactful decisions for the entire continent. This 11 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 728) 12 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 716) 13 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 718) 3 exclusion from the European Union was in part due to a rift and an ever-increasing gap for a lack of support and economic aid, “By any measure the gulf separating East and West Europe was huge: infant mortality in the Baltic states was twice the average of the fifteen EU member states in 1996” 14. More Eastern European states have become involved in the E.U. but states such as Turkey still struggle for representation within the Union. Additionally, economic challenges in recent years have questioned funding for the European Union. When the Union sought to increase its member states to include Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland; “cash bonuses were made available to recalcitrant governments … [E.U. leadership] all but bribed the finance ministers promising large increases in EU structural funds in return for their signatures on the Treaty” 15. Additional to financial promises, the question of who provides relief to a member of the Union in times of economic trouble was unanswered. When Greece experienced its government’s debt crisis in 2009 was it right for the other states of the E.U. to use their own funds to relieve another’s economy? These problems arise out of the European Union having no significant way to fund their programs and economic aid, “But whereas conventional governments are free to raise money to meet their expected costs, the European Union had and 16 has very few revenue-raising capacity of its own” . The funds that the E.U. operates on consist of profits from Union wide indirect sales taxes and 1.24% of gross national income from member states, this funding allows the E.U. to have little control over how much their budget is “ 17 … and all of it is vulnerable to political pressures within the separate member-states” . Economic insecurity and exclusion of Eastern European countries are the downfalls of the E.U. in its current state. 14 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 718) 15 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 715) 16 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 725) 17 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 725) 4 A development to the European Union was the Schengen Accords established in 1987. Described by Judt as an impressive transnational agreement the accords brought, “France, West Germany and the Benelux countries to dismantle their common frontiers and inaugurate a shared 18 regime of passport control. Henceforward it would be easy to cross from Germany to France” . The Schengen Accords for Western European countries was a fundamental change, travel across borders without passport control allowed for trust and easier movement across the nations, however, again Eastern European countries did not experience the benefits, “civilized Europeans could indeed transcend boundaries—but the 'barbarians' would be kept resolutely beyond them” 19 . This divide in ease of travel between Western and Eastern Europe left those from the East to feel like 2nd class citizens on their own continent. Both figuratively and literally, “… obliged to queue …”20 while the rest of Europe proceeded. All things considered, it is undeniable that the European Union and the Schengen Accords have prevented interstate conflict in Europe and have bettered the region through trade, free movement, and collaboration. Questions of economic instability and a lack of Eastern European involvement are still valid, but the E.U.'s and the Schengen Accords’ aforementioned benefits persist. These international Unions are steps for collaboration, but do not suggest a permanent integration with their member states. As previously mentioned each state in the European Union still has their own right to make the best economic and political decisions for their own country. Currently, this freedom is being expressed in different countries within the European Union to address the COVID-19 Pandemic. The E.U. does not act as a single unit and enact lockdown or quarantine procedures, instead, each state can act independently. 18 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 534) 19 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 534) 20 Judt, Tony. “Postwar: a History of Europe since 1945”, 2005, (pg. 718) 5 However, even with moves towards integration and further collaboration through the European Union, a permanently integrated Europe would be impossible in the future. A permanently integrated region would fail for a variety of reasons: economic issues, refugee and migrant movement, lack of autonomy for member states, and a myriad of other shortcomings. But ultimately, once again at the core resistance against permanent integration would be nationalism. A permanently integrated Europe could eliminate each state’s own economies, political leadership, and some would argue their identity. With a permanently integrated European region, nationalistic identities would still be of great importance to some. Ideally, citizens of this fully integrated European continent would view themselves as “Europeans” but it is hard to imagine a Europe that has been so noticeably formed by nationalities could integrate without factions in its population. Currently, with the rise of the Alt-Right in some European states21, growing discontent with refugee populations, and states considering leaving the European Union after “Brexit”22, it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine a collective and merged Europe existing in harmony. In conclusion, through understanding Europe’s nationalistic roots that lead to current tendencies for some to preserve cultural homogeneity and examining both the positives and negatives of the European Union and the Shengen Accords, it is clear that Europe is not moving towards full, permanent integration. Through some aspects of the E.U. and other international treaties are moving to integrate their member-states, it is clear through recent events such as “Brexit” that no integration is permanent, and that collaboration through the European Union is beneficial for the future of the continent. 21 Blackler, Adam. “East Comes West” 22 Blackler, Adam. “East Comes West” 6