Delors, Jacques

Archive of European Integration

EMBARGO - 4 p.m. EST COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES LECTURE BY PRESIDENT JACQUES DELORS ON EUROPE1992 AND ITS MEANING FOR AMERICA / On the Occasion of the Dedication of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies Harvard University 22 September, 1989 . .,. _____ ____.., ! / ,1 / C f--1, '---IT WAS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I ACCEPTED YOUR INVITATION TO JOIN YOU TODAY ON THE OCCASION OF TH£ DEDICATION OF THE MINDA DE GUNZBURG CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES. HARVARD IS FAR MORE THAN A UNIVERSITY. IT WAS HERE THAT EMERSON IDENTIFIED AND UPHELD THE VOCATION OF THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR A HUNDRED ANO FIFTY YEARS AGO. IT IS HERE THAT KNOWLEDGE IS STILL IMPARTED AND ITS FRONTIERS ROLLED BACK. IT WAS HERE THAT SCHUMPETER WROTE HIS HISTORY OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. BUT HARVARD MEANS MORE THAN THIS. IT PROVIDES A UNIQUE FORUM WHERE CULTURES AND LANGUAGES MINGLE. AND NATIONS MEET. NOR HAVE I FORGOTTEN THAT HARVARD HAS LINKS WITH HISTORY AT ITS BLACKEST PERIODS AND ITS MOMENTS OF RECONCILIATION. IT WAS HERE THAT THE MARSHALL PLAN FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF OUR WAR-TORN CONTINENT WAS MADE PUBL!C IN 1947. THAT WAS A VITAL ELEMENT NURTURING THE EARLY POLITICAL wlll TO CREATE A EUROPEAN UNION. HOWEVER, ; HAVE NO WISH TO DWELL ON EUROPE'S HISTORY ANO HERITAGE, FASCINATING THOUGH THE TOPIC MAY BE. l WOULD RATHER SPEAK OF THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. TOMORROW MARKS THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CENTER FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES AND THE INAUGURATION OF ITS NEW PREMISES. I JOIN W!TH YOU AND WISH THE MINOA DE GUNZBURG CENTER FOR EUROPEAN STUDIES EVERY SUCCESS. 1 CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WILL BE TAKING A KEEN INTEREST IN ITS PROGRESS. WE ATTACH GREAT IMPORTANCE TO THE RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN HERE AND CHERISH A SECRET HOPE OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS INTELLECTUAL ENDEAVOUR. IT IS SO ESSENTIAL TO DISCIPLINED ANALYSIS, ANO THE POLITICAL VISION WHICH LIES AT THE BASE OF EFFECTIVE ACTION. / 2 TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF HOW THE PROCESS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION WAS REVITALIZED; ANO THEN PLACE IT IN PERSPECTIVE. I WILL ARGUE THAT NECESSITY WAS THE MAINSPRING. I WILL THEN TURN TO OUR POLITICAL AMBITIONS. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I WILL LOOK AT THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A COMMUNITY WHICH HAS REGAINED ITS DYNAMISM. IN THIS CONNECTION I WILL TOUCH ON THE NATURE OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY ANO THE UNITED STATES. NECESSITY AS THE MArNSPRING EUROPE HAS OPTED FOR SURV:VAL RATHER THAN DECLINE. IN THE EARLY 1980s IN THE WAKE OF THE MAJOR OIL SHOCKS. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY GAVE THE IMPRESSION OF BEING A GROUP OF STATES INCAPABLE or EXTRACTING THEMSELVES FROM THE MOST SERIOUS POST-WAR ECONOMIC CRISIS. THEY WERE NAT:ONS - WITH A GLORIOUS PAST - WHICH SEEMED BAFFLED BY EVENTS ANO MISTAKEN IN THEIR DIAGNOSIS OF THE ILLS THAT PLAGUED THEM. SPIRITS HAD BECOME DULLED. A NOSTALG! C VIEW OF iHE PAST PREVENTED NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS. AS A RESULT THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY FELL BEHIND ITS MAJOR TRADING PARTNERS. ITS WORLD-WIDE ROLE DECLINED. THE WIDESPREAD FEELING THAT !T WAS RUNNING OUT OF STEAM WAS REFLECTED IN THE ATTITUDE OF THE UNITED STATES, WHICH BECAME DISILLUSIONED WITH A VENTURE IT HAO ENCOURAGED AND WELCOMED FROM THE OUTSET. I HAVE NO NEED TO REMIND YOU HERE OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY' S UNWAVERING SUPPORT FOR THE EARLY MOVES TOWARDS EUROPEAN INTEGRATION. IN THE LONG TERM THIS DECLINE WOULD HAVE AFFECTED MUCH MORE THAN OUR ECONOMIES. HOW, FOR INSTANCE, COULD EUROPE PRESERVE ITS IDENTITY IN A WORLD IN WHICH IT HAO EXCLUDED ITSELF FROM AUOIO•VISUAL OEVElOPMENTS? SIMILARLY, OUR SOCIAL MODEL, WHICH HAD DEVELOPED DURING THE YEARS OF RECONSTRUCTION AND MODERNIZATION, WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED, EVEN IN A MODIFIED FORM, WITH INSUFFICIENT ECONOMIC ~01"\~C>c-p~T\f T() ~ll??ORT THE:M. 3 SOME OF US MADE IT OUR BUSINESS TO FORCE THE TWELVE MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMUNITY TO FACE THIS FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE. IT CAME TO BE RECOGNIZED THAT PROGRESS ON EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, WITH THE CREATION OF A FRONTIER•FREE AREA, COULD REVITALISE OUR ECONOMIES, STIMULATE GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT AND PROVIDE AN EFF'£CTtVE - ALBEIT PARTIAL -SOLUTION. IT WAS ALSO ACCEPTED THAT IT WAS NECESSARY TO GIVE NEW DYNAMISM TO THE COMMUNITY'S INSTITUTIONS , SO AS TO IMPROVE ANO SPEED UP DECISION-MAKING. THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT, THE MOST RADICAL REVISION OF THE TREATY OF ROME. THE SINGLE ACT CAME INTO FORCE IN 1987. THE 1992 PROJECT HAS CREATED ITS OWN MOMENTUM. THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET HAS REV!VED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND THE CONFIDENCE OF THE BUSINESS WORLD AND SOCIETY !N GENERAL. THE COMMUNITY'S INSTITUTIONS HAVE BECOME MORE DYNAMIC, WITH MORE AND MORE DECISIONS BEING TAKEN BY MAJORITY VOTE. THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. WITH EXTENDED POWERS, IS BECOMING MORE ANO MORE INFLUENTIAL. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IS NOW PLAYING ITS FULL ROLE ANO USING ITS CRUCIAL POWER OF INITIATIVE. WHICH WAS GIVEN TO IT BY THE TREATY OF ROME. THIS POWER MAKES IT A UNIQUE INSTITUTION iN A MULTINATIONAL STRUCTURE. A POLITICAL AMBITION AS JEAN MONNET. ONE OF ITS FOUNDING FATHERS. SAID FROM THE BEGINNING. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY'S AMBITION IS ABOVE ALL POLITICAL. THIS IS RESTATED IN THE PREAMBLE OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT WHICH READS AS FOLLOWS: "THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND EUROPEAN POLITICAL COOPERATION SHALL HAVE AS THEIR OBJECT! VE TO CONTRIBUTE TOGETHER TO MAK ING CONCRETE PROGRESS TOWARDS EUROPEAN UNITY." 4 WISELY IN MY OPINION, NO DEADLINE HAS BEEN SET. IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO SPELL OUT IN ADVANCE A DETAILED TIME-TABLE FOR TOMORROW'S POLITICAL UNION. BUT THE NEED FOR POLITICAL UNION IS THERE.IT MAKES ITS PRESENCE FELT AND INFLUENCES DECISION-MAKING. IT IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE "POLITICAL- WILL" ANO IT ENABLES US TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES AND TRANSCEND DIFFICULTIES. HISTORIANS MAY WELL SAY THAT WE BEGAN WITH THE ECONOMY AND SO, IN THE MARXIST EXPRESSION, WITH THE GOODS. SUCH A MATERIALIST PROJECT IS OFTEN CRITICIZED BY EUROPEAN INTELLECTUALS ... NOW THAT IT HAS SUCCEEDED! BUT THERE WAS NO OTHER POINT AT WHICH TO APPLY THE PRESSURE TO START THINGS MOVING. KNOWING HOW TO GO ABOUT S0~ETH1NG IS OFTEN JUST AS IMPORTANT AS KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. WE THEREFORE NEEDED A METHOD TO KEEP THE MACHINERY OF INTEGRATION WORKING. AT THE BASIS OF THIS METHOD IS THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, ACCORDING TO WHICH NO DECISIONS OR ACTIONS SHOULO BE TAKEN AT A MORE CENTRAL LEVEL THAN l S STRICTLY NECESSARY. THE COMMUNITY WILL NOT TAKE OVER WHAT CAN BE DONE AT NATIONAL. REGIONAL OR LOCAL LEVEL. THIS MAKES SENSE IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY. IT AVOIDS THE CREATION OF A LARGE CENTRAL BUREAUCRACY. IT IS ALSO IN TUNE WITH CURRENT BUSINESS AND POLITICAL PRACTICES. 5 THE STRENGTHENING OF THE REGIONS ANO LOCALITIES IS VITAL TO THE INTEGRATION PROCESS. THEY ARE NOT MERELY ECONOMIC ENTITIES. THEY ARE WHERE PEOPLE ANO BUSINESS HAVE THEIR ROOTS. THEY ARE THEREFORE ESSENTIAL FOR ESTABLISHING AN lNDlSPENSlBLE SENSE OF ALLEGIANCE ANO COMMITMENT. THE APPROACH BASED ON SUBSIDIARITY ALSO REFLECTS ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF CONTEMPORARY INDIVIDUALISM. EUROPE INCREASINGLY OFFERS TO INDIVIDUALS AN OPPORTONITY TO ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. THAT IS WHY OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE WHAT I WOULD CALL NATURAL EUROPEANS. BUT BESIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONAL FULFILMENT, WE NEED TO OFFER THEM A COLLECTIVE ADVENTURE. THIS IS ONE WAY TO COMBAT THE POVERTY OF THE IDEOLOGICAL DEBATE AND THE TENDENCY FOR OUR DEMOCRACIES TO FIND CONSENSUS IN RELATIVE MEDIOCRITY - AS DE TOCQUEVILLE FEARED. THE INDIVIDUAL NATIONS OF EUROPE ARE HAVING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THE FACT THAT THEIR SPHERE OF !NFLUENCE AND ROOM FOR MANOEUVRE ARE INCREASINGLY LIMITED. AS THEY DO so. THEY ARE ACCEPTING THE IDEA or EXERCISING JOINT SOVEREIGNTY IN CERTAIN AREAS ANO ON CERTAIN CONDITIONS. THIS IS ALREADY BEING DONE IN A NUMBER OF AREAS SUCH AS: - TRADE POLICY. ANO THE GROUND RULES FOR THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET, - COMMON POLICIES FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENT. - ECONOMIC AND MONETARY CO-OPERATION HAS BEEN INCREASED THROUGH THE EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM. SUCCESS IN THIS FIELD, AS WELL AS THE LIMITS ON THE POWERS OF INDIVIDUAL STATES BROUGHT ABOUT BY INCREASING INTERDEPENDENCE. HAS LED TO A NEW INTEREST IN ECONOMIC ANO MONETARY UNION. - FINALLY A BEGINNING 1S ALSO BEING MADE IN CO-OPERATION OVER FORF!r,~ PnLICY, AS RECENT ACTIONS FOR POLAND AND THE LEBANON SHOW. / 6 OF COURSE EUROPEAN UNION DOES NOT SIGNAL THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NATIONAL IDENTITY. NOR IS IT A SYNONYM FOR UNIFORMITY. UNITY CANNOT BE ACHIEVED AT THE EXPENSE OF DIVERSITY, FOR EUROPE'S GREATEST ASSETS ARE PRECISELY ITS REGIONAL, LINGUISTIC. AND SOCIAL DIVERSITY; AND ITS POLITICAL PLURALISM. IN OTHER WORDS, A SENSE OF BELONGING TO THE COMMUNITY WILL NOT BE FOSTERED BY DESTROYING THE LEGITIMATE LINKS THAT BIND EACH OF US TO OUR OWN NATION AND OUR OWN LOCALITY. ALSO THE 1992 PROJECT MUST BE A STAGE ON THE ROAD OF POLITICAL INTEGRATION. IF WE WERE MERELY TO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE FRUITS OF THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET, EVEN IF THIS WERE POSSIBLE, WE WOULD BE FALLING FAR SHORT OF THE GOALS SET BY THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT. 7 THE COMMUNITY'S INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES CLOSER INTEGRATION BETWEEN THE TWELVE HAS TO BE MATCHED BY GREATER OPENNESS TOWARDS THE REST OF THE WORLD. FAR FROM BEING INWARD LOOKING, EUROPE IS TAKING A HIGHER PROFILE AS IT GROWS STRONGER. AND A HIGHER PROFILE MEANS GREATER COHESION. THE UNITED STATES CAN THEREFORE EXPECT THE RENEWED VIGOUR IN OUR INTEGRATION PROCESS TO ADD NEW DIMENSIONS TO ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY. WE ARE LINKED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC BY COMMON VALUES AND IDEALS, ANO BY A SHARED ATTACHMENT TO PEACE, FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS ANO DEMOCRACY. WE CANNOT ALLOW THESE COMMON BONDS TO BE JEOPARDIZED BY TRADE DISPUTES. RATHER WE MUST REINFORCE THEM BY WORKING TOGETHER TO MEET OUR WIDER INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES. ! FOUND IT VERY HEARTENING TO HEAR PRESIDENT BUSH SAY, NOT SO VERY FAR FROM HERE, THAT HE WELCOMED {ANO I QUOTE) 11 THE EMERGENCE OF EUROPE AS A PARTNER IN WORLD LEADERSHIP 11 AND THAT THE TIME HAO COME FOR "A MORE MATURE PARTNERSHIPu. THIS PARTNERSHIP MUST GROW IN A NUMBER OF AREAS. THC: FIRST AND MOST OBVIOUS ONE IS INiERNATIONAL TRADE. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER TO DEFEND THE MULTILATERAL APPROACH AND, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE KENNEDY AND LATER ROUNDS. TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS Of THE NEW NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY WITHIN GATT. A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION TO THE URUGUAY ROUND BY THE END OF 1990 IS VITAL TO THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY. WE CANNOT SUCCEED WITHOUT GREATER MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, ENABLING US TO MAKE GLOBAL TRADE~OFFS. THE COMMUNITY'S OPENNESS TO WORLD TRADE IS ONE OF ITS MOST ENDURING FEATURES. P0ST-l992 EUROPE WILL REMAIN A SOURCE OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION FOR THE WORLD - AND THE AMERICAN - ECONOMY. / 8 THE SECOND AREA MUST BE SHARED CONCERN FOR THE PROBLEMS OF TH£ DEVELOPING WORLD. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER • WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF POWER AND PROSPERITY IF THEY DO NOT SERVE A POLICY OF TRUE GENEROSITY? WHILE THE ECONOMIES OF THE INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN PERFORMING BETTER RECENTLY, LITTLE-OR NO-PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD. THIS SITUATION CANNOT ENDURE. PROSPERITY ANO POVERTY ARE LINKED. AN IMMEDIATE ISSUE IS THE PROBLEM OF OVER-INDEBTEDNESS. A 8£GINNING HAS BEEN MADE. AT THE sur~MIT OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES IN TORONTO IN l 988, IT WAS DEC I OED, WITH THE STRONG SUPPORT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNlTY, TO TAKE MEASURES TO REDUCE THE INDEBTEDNESS OF THE POOREST COUNTRIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. SEVERAL OF OUR MEMBER STATES MADE EARLY PROPOSALS FOR A NEW APPROACH TO THE PROBLfMS OF THE MIDDLE-INCOME INDEBTED COUNTRIESi ANO THE COMMUN!TY WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO WELCOME MR. BRADY' S DECISION TO ENCOURAGE A BROADER APPROACH. THE SUMMIT OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES IN PARIS THIS JULY SHOWED THAT OUR VIEWS ON INDEBTEDNESS DO NOT FULL CONVERGE. BUT 1T ALSO CONFIRMED THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO WORK TOGETHER, PARTICULARLY SINCE BEHIND THE IMMEDIATE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PROBLEMS OF INDEBTEDNESS LIES THE DANGER OF SOCIAL CRISIS AND POLITICAL DESTABILIZATION IN THE COUNTRIES CONCERNED. 10 I AM WELL AWARE THAT THIS LIST OF AREAS FOR COOPERATION IS A POOR REFLECTION OF THE NEW SPIRIT WHICH EUROPEANS WOULD LIKE TO BREATHE INTO TRANS·ATLANTIC RELATIONS. IN THE EAST-WEST DIALOGUE, AS IN NORTH-SOUTH RELATIONS, DEMOCRACIES CANNOT AF'FORO TO REST ON THEIR LAURELS RECITING THE LITANY OF COMMUNISM'S FAILURES. DEMOCRACIES MUST PROVIDE CONSTANT PROOF' OF THE SUPERIORITY OF THEIR POLITICAL AND SOCIAL MODEL, NOT SIMPLY FOR THEMSELVES, BUT FOR THE WORLD AT LARGE. THE COMMUN!TY AND THE UNITED STATES COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER IN THEIR MAIN CONCERNS, THEIR TRADITIONS AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM, AND THE RIGHTS Or THE INDIVIDUAL. THEY SHOULD ACT IN CONCERT. TODAY THE COMMUNIST WORLD IS BEING SHAKEN BY rAR-REACHING CHANGE, THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHICH ARE DIFFICULT TO PREDICT. THE EASTERN BLOC rs LOOKING TO THE COMMUNITY. WHAT CAN THE COMMUNITY DO? WHAT PROSPECTS, HOWEVER DISTANT, CAN IT OFFER THESE COUNTRIES? WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE THIS IS THE DE~TINY OF OUR EUROPE: UNITED IN ITS DIVERSITY, TOO OFTEN AT ODDS, TOO RARELY PULLING TOGETHER, STRONG IN A SHARED CIVILIZATION, AT THE CROSSROADS OF THE JUDA£0-CHRISTIAN TRADITION, GREEK HUMANISM AND ROMAN LAW, NOT TO MENTION THE CELTS, THE FRANKS, AND THE OTHERS. THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY CAN OFFER AN EXAMPLE. TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES, WE CAN EASE THE TRANSITION. BUT WE MUST NOT BE DIVERTED FROM OUR COURSE. OUR AIM IS TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS OF POLITICAL INTEGRATION BETWEEN OUR MEMBERS WHO WANT TO TAKE THE IDEAL OF EUROPE I S FOUNDING FATHERS TO ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION. AT THE SAME TIME WE WANT TO COME UP WITH FLEXIBLE ARRANGEMENTS FOR TRADE, DIALOGUE AND COOPERATION OF INTEREST TO OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS. 11 THE TWO ARE COMPATIBLE. IN FACT THEY CAN BE MUTUALLY REINFORCING. THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE HAVE CONFIRMED THE WILL TO MOVE TOWARDS A POLITICAL UNION. WE MUST ENSURE THAT THE IDEAL OF A UNITED EUROPE DOES NOT BLIND US TO THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE TASK AHEAD. THE TWELVE ANO THE FUTURE OF EUROPE SPEAKING TO THIS AUDIENCE. IN A UNIVERSITY FAMOUS FOR THE QUALITY ANO ORIGINAL ITV Or ITS RESEARCH ON EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, I WOULD LIKE TO GO BEYOND PRINCIPLES. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE SCEPTICISM ABOUT THE COHESION Or THE TWELVE ANO THE POSSIBILITY OF DEVISING COMPLEX ARRANGEMENTS FOR EUROPEAN POLITICAL UNION. ANO I AM AWARE THAT BEHIND ALL THIS LIES TH£ ETERNAL QUESTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL HISTORICAL DESTINIES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, GERMANY, FRANCE, THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTHERN EUROPE ... THE COMMUNITY HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO INTENSIFY THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATION. THE SINGLE ACT ANO THE ACHIEVEMENT Or ITS OBJECTIVES HAVE CREATED A NEW DYNAMIC. THIS IS WELL ILLUSTRATED BY THE RECENT DECISION ON ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION. THE HEADS OF STATE DECIDED AT THEIR MEETING IN JUNE THAT THE FIRST STAGE OF THE PROCESS SHOULD BEGIN IN JULY NEXT YEAR. THIS CONFIRMS THEIR POLITICAL AMBITION FOR THE COMMUNITY. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT ECONOMIC ANO MONETARY INTEGRATION WILL REMAIN ELUSIVE ANO INCOMPLETE UNLESS THERE IS ALSO ?ROGRESS ON THE INSTITUTIONAL AND DEMOCRATIC FRONTS. 12 THIS MUST [NCLUDE INCREASED POWERS FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. IT MUST ALSO INCLUDE AN EXECUTIVE WHICH IS ANSWERABLE TO PARLIAMENT AND TO THE INSTITUTIONS REPRESENTING NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, NAMELY THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, WHICH BRINGS HEADS OF GOVERNMENT TOGETHER TWICE A YEAR. AND THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS. ANY NEW INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE WILL REMAIN OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY WHILE THE ISSUES TACKLED TOGETHER BY THE TWELVE ARE EXCLUSIVELY CONCENTRATED ON THE ECONOMIC SPHERE. THE TWELVE MUST ALSO SHARE TOGETHER THE PROBLEMS OF SOCIETY ANO AREAS OF FOREIGN POLICY ANO SECURITY. IF EARLY TANGIBLE PROGRESS CAN BE MADE IN THIS DIRECTION, THE COMMUNITY WILL BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO SOLVE THE DELICATE ISSUES WHICH IT WILL HAV£ TO FACE. THESE INCLUDE THE ACCESS BY THE EFTA COUNTRIES TO THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET. CLOSER COOPERATION WITH EFTA COUNTRIES ON CULTURAL MATTERS, EDUCATION, SECURITY, DEFENCE OR HUMAN RIGHTS; ANO BEYOND TH IS THE PROSPECT OF NEW RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EAST AND WEST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. BUT WE MUST BE ON OUR GUARD AGAINST EASY ROMANTIC I SM. WE MUST BE WARY OF SINGING THE PRAISES OF A LARGER EUROPE. THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW WE ARE TO GO ABOUT IT. ONL V THE COMMUNITY, PURSUING ITS OWN AMBITIONS, OFFERS A SECURE. REALISTIC SOLUTION. THE HISTORY OF THIS NEW EUROPE HAS STILL TO BE WRITTEN. WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO SHAPE IT USING A METHOD, FOLLOWING SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES. LET ME REPEAT WHAT I HAVE SAID ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS IN THE PAST: EUROPE, UNITED IN ITS DIVERSITY. MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN PLURALISM ANO EXTINCTION. 13 IT WILL BE NO SURPRIS£ TO YOU TO HEAR THAT I SET GREAT STORE BY PROFESSOR HOFFMANN'S ANALYSES ANO REFLECTIONS. THE CHALLENGE HE PUT TO EUROPE IS NEVER FAR FROM MY MIND. AS LONG AGO AS THE AUTUMN OF 1964 HE WROTE IN THE REVIEW DAEDALUS: "NOBLESSE OBLIGE MEANS ALSO THAT EUROPEANS HAVE NO JUSTIFICATION FOR DROPPING WHAT MADE EUROPE GREAT -IT WAS THE CONTINENT OF THE EXAMINED LIFE. ITS SPIRITUAL SILENCE OF TODAY IS AS DEAFENING ANO DISHEARTENING AS ITS EARLIER CLAMOR OF DESPAIR. ONE OF THE CHOICES EUROPE STILL HAS TO MAKE CONCERNS ITS FUTURE ROLE IN THE WORLD. FOR IN THIS RESPECT ALSO. THERE IS FREEDOM or CHOICE. BUT IT HAS NOT YET BEEN FULLY USED. 11 LIKE STANLEY HOFFMANN, I 00 NOT BELIEVE IN ECONOMIC ANO SOCIAL DETERMINISM. BUT I AM HAUNTED BY THE FACT THAT WITHOUT ECONOMIC POWER CONFIDENCE WANES ANO DYNAMISM FADES, EGOISM TAKES OVER. LIKE HIM, I AM AWARE OF WHAT MAKES UNDERSTANDING ANO PULLING TOGETHER SO DIFPICULT FOR THE OLD AND PROUD NATIONS OF EUROPE. BUT I HAVE MADE A POLITICAL PROPOSAL WHICH WOULD NOT OBLIGE THEM TO RENOUNCE ALL THAT IS BEST IN THEIR TRADITIONS AND IN THEIR PERSONALITIES. I AM ACUTELY AWARE THAT WE MUST TRANSFORM OUR PATIENT EFFORTS INTO A NEW SPIRITUAL ADVENTURE FOR EUROPE. '* * * 

LECTURE BY PRESIDENT JACQUES DELORS ON EUROPE 1992 AND ITS MEANING FOR AMERICA. 22 September 1989

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