28 October 2005
EU Trade Rift
The European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels has exposed the continent’s division between predominantly industrial market-oriented economies led by Britain and largely agricultural economies headed by France. Reconciliation of the two types of political systems will have to be achieved if the EU hopes to act as a single force in world affairs, including the Doha Trade Talks Round.
The U.S. contended with a similar rivalry between its component states in the early 19th Century, resolution of which only resulted from a brutal Civil War. The subsidies that overburden the budget of the EU and embitter less developed nations had their counterpart in southern America’s institution of slavery.
Armed force, of course, will not be used to resist a break in Europe’s progress towards closer integration. However, satisfying certain states’ compulsion for international fairness will not be allowed to come at the expense of balancing the domestic interests of the continent’s protectionist states. Whether or not a compromise of these competing goals can be found will indicate the future for a unified Europe.
The European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels has exposed the continent’s division between predominantly industrial market-oriented economies led by Britain and largely agricultural economies headed by France. Reconciliation of the two types of political systems will have to be achieved if the EU hopes to act as a single force in world affairs, including the Doha Trade Talks Round.
The U.S. contended with a similar rivalry between its component states in the early 19th Century, resolution of which only resulted from a brutal Civil War. The subsidies that overburden the budget of the EU and embitter less developed nations had their counterpart in southern America’s institution of slavery.
Armed force, of course, will not be used to resist a break in Europe’s progress towards closer integration. However, satisfying certain states’ compulsion for international fairness will not be allowed to come at the expense of balancing the domestic interests of the continent’s protectionist states. Whether or not a compromise of these competing goals can be found will indicate the future for a unified Europe.
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