E3G

The EU in search of a story

By Chris Littlecott

From practical solutions to political vision

Where I find Garton Ash’s column hits the nail on the head is in his return to the larger political canvas on which the EU and member states haggle over policy detail. For his penultimate paragraph captures neatly the challenge to which E3G is seeking to respond through our ‘Europe in the World’ activities:

Yet beyond the individual policies, there is the matter of the overall story that Europe wants to tell. Everything that the European community did from the late 50s to the early 90s was packaged within a larger historical narrative. Of course individual nations had their own different narratives about their place in Europe and Europe’s place in them, but there was sufficient common ground among two generations of political leaders shaped by the memory of war. No longer. An effective political narrative links a (selective) history of where we are coming from with an inspiring vision of where we are heading to. This is what Europe now lacks.”

From our discussions across Europe over the past couple of years, here at E3G we have come to the conclusion that this story is neither one of ‘Grands Projets’ like the European Constitution. Nor is it one of practical policy details such as lowering mobile phone roaming charges for a grateful citizenry.

Rather, the political task ahead and the new story we need to tell are both wrapped up in the need to ensure Europe’s continued security and prosperity in the face of a suite of interconnected and external challenges. Energy security and climate security is just the largest and most pressing of these. These challenges can’t be met through internal EU reforms alone, but require the EU to align its internal and external policies in such a way that it brings its remarkable assets to bear.

To do this, Europe needs to be able to see itself in the mirror of the world - in the wider context of a global community approaching 8bn inhabitants; with growing resource constraints; and with the continuing diffusion of power under globalisation. This is where we are heading towards, whether we like it or not: so we now need to be able to communicate an inspiring vision about it.

Only the EU has the assets to shape a coherent global response. It has to get serious about using them. To do that, it needs to recognise its unique position and start telling itself a new story. An EU in pursuit of global goals and internal improvement might just have that elusive potential to inspire its citizens.

This is a political task: political stories obviously require political leadership. Yet given the current poverty of European political leadership in shaping a collective response, alternative storytellers will also be required from elsewhere. Any volunteers?