The European Union appears to be splitting in two in the wake of the Brexit Referendum.
The day after the result was announced, the foreign ministers of the founding six, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands met in Berlin. No-one else was invited.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, said European leaders have to meet “the expectations of [European] people” in its response. Then, In a revealing quote, he went on: “I am confident that these countries can send a message that we won’t let anyone take Europe from us.”.
Somewhat aggrieved by being excluded, the Czech Foreign Minister convened a meeting in Prague of the Central European Visegrad Group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) with the ministers of France and Germany. Then the Polish Foreign Minister invited all the ‘non-six’ to another meeting in Warsaw. Ten in total attended.
The website of the Polish Foreign Ministry reported on the Warsaw meeting as follows:
‘Invited by Minister Waszczykowski, the foreign ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary came to Warsaw alongside secretaries of state and high-ranking officials from the foreign ministries of Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria. The meeting was also attended by Great Britain’s Minister for European Affairs, David Lidington.
‘This morning I took part in a meeting of the Visegrad Group together with the ministers of France and Germany. Just now I concluded a consultation of ten European member states. I did not create any given format, I invited many countries. Ministers came from countries such as Spain and Greece. They also came to discuss the situation after an open brainstorming session. We didn’t make any final decisions, we exchanged views, analysed the situation, proposed solutions. (…) We should have more of these debates. But they have to be debates that don’t exclude anyone,’ Minister Waszczykowski said, pointedly.
Just days after, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s right hand man said he does not want to remain in the European Union (EU) as it fails to protect European values.
It looks as if the EU’s founder’s dream of creating a superstate, a revived Roman Empire, is falling apart.
Another fault line could develop around the Euro. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain are in the Eurozone.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden, and of course the UK, are not.
Finally, in recent days we have seen the Scottish National Party’s Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, scurrying around the European Union’s corridors desperately searching for a way in as the UK leaves.
In the light of what is happening, Winston Churchill’s famous jibe comes to mind. We are seeing the astonishing spectacle of a rat swimming to join a sinking ship.
To add more fuel to the fire, the President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, has called for a referendum on his country’s membership not just of the EU but also of NATO. Although Zeman wants to remain in both organizations, he wants the public to have a chance to ‘express themselves.’
On top of that, Norbert Hofer, the Austrian Freedom Party’s candidate in that country’s re-run presidential election, has hinted at a referendum if Turkey looks like joining and if the EU’s institutions keep grabbing power: He told RT:
‘I hope that there will be no need for a referendum [on EU membership] in Austria, and that the Union will develop in a positive manner. But I am fully certain that Austrian people will not accept Turkish membership in the bloc, as well as the situation where Austria is deprived of its powers in favor of the authorities in Brussels.’
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I would have thought that the EU splitting into a western sector and an eastern sector was about the worst thing that could happen.