Viva la (European) revolution?

By Darren Jones / @darrenpjones

This week the Prime Minster is to report to parliament following his European extravaganza where – as his communication team put it – he successfully won over European leaders to agree to a smaller budget increase than that suggested by the institutions (those being the same leaders who, pretty much, thought that anyway).

But perhaps more importantly he is expected to add a few sentences about a treaty of military co-operation with the French. Now whilst we already knew that we were going to share our aircraft carriers (which makes sense considering we’re no longer going to have any aircraft to put on the damn things) the co-operation on wider military provision is very important indeed and, I would argue, not just for the obvious reasons.

Whilst the official line will probably be about sharing only when shared interests are involved, especially now that the French have a new found enthusiasm for NATO, I wonder if the unofficial position – even if subconsciously indirect – reflects further European integration. I know this is a long shot but consider it for just a moment, if you will.

We British are very good at calm progression, preferably over a pot of tea, whilst those Europeans are all about viva la revolution. Ghastly behaviour. But one of the big secrets of the European Union has been its quite British approach to integration – the European Parliament being a prime example in point. The European Parliament started life as a mere consultative committee yet has become the major power sharing institution of the European Union, progressing its power and its reach just a bit at a time year on year.

The European Union can now boast a strong parliament, a commonly recognised flag, an albeit slightly weak but widely used single currency and, dare I say, the wide yet unofficial language of Globish (this being monotone English); this isn’t to forget of course its supreme legal functionality in an ever increasing range of competencies, the largest free market in the world – with free movement of trade, people and resource – and, somewhat quietly, a new President and High Representative of Foreign Affairs. It seems, does it not, that the only major element left is defence – a touchy subject for a continent historically shadowed by warfare and a touchy subject for us Brits. Indeed the Americans have commented on the European ‘soft’ approach to military (perhaps a good thing after all those years of fighting) and the very whisper of sharing our military with the French would surely be enough to knock Cate Blanchett off one’s Royal Horse in Elizabeth I. But the point is, step by step, the major elements are coming together, don’t you think?

Great Britain. Royal Britannia. England. It sends a last night of the proms bobbing shiver down your spine doesn’t it? We try to forget the bad bits of the Empire yet, almost genetically, we continue to be a global player because of our ‘we were once amazing’ attitude (I happen to still think we’re amazing, for the record) and, I would argue, this genetic assumption of brilliance has always put us off of integration with those Europeans. Now whilst my comments may be making Dicey turn in his grave, I hope that our supreme Westminster is starting to recognise that one major element of our future – if not the major element – is Europe and that if we are to continue to be amazing around the World we need to integrate our people, our talents, our foresight and our history into a shared future.

I happen to welcome the debate on defence integration – although I don’t know what my conclusions are yet – but I do find it quite ironic that the Conservatives are leading the way, just as they did in introducing us to Europe in the 50’s, into a more integrated European future. I just can’t wait to see the infighting it will cause as the leadership try to tackle their crazy eurosceptic uncle in the attic.

For all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure, as a Labour movement we should continue to lead the debate on Europe as we broadcast our excellent MEPs, our High Representative of Foreign Affairs and our Europortfolio-ed MPs alongside the achievements of a progressive Europe and, one can only hope, the positives that our work in Europe brings. Masses of workers rights, global action against human trafficking, international aid and hopefully wider collaborative action against climate change are just but a few examples. Lets make sure we’re delivering the positive message and make sure the debate isn’t centred around the fallacy of Conservative action in Europe. We should have plenty of political opportunity to do so.