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By declaring their joint support of George W Bush eight states of the "New Europe" have read the riot act to the Franco-German couple who have long driven policy in the European Union. Drafted by Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, the text of their collective article was a pointed rebuke to Germany's Gerhard Schr�der and France's Jacques Chirac - labelled "Old Europe"by US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld - for thinking they alone represent Europe's collective will. It is the latest example of the shifting centre of gravity in Europe, which would be reinforced if France and Germany were not part of a victorious coalition against Iraq. Just a week ago, the audacious Franco-German plan for a twin-headed presidency of the EU was greeted with scorn by speaker after speaker in the Convention on the Future of Europe, all irked by the way Paris and Berlin seemed to imagine they had achieved a fait accompli. It followed a decision by EU finance ministers to castigate Germany for breaching the euro-zone's Stability Pact. They also issued an official "early warning" to France. The failure of the German and French economies to cope with the rigours of the euro and economic downturn was a watershed. Easily ranked the world's number three and four in the late 1980s, they have slipped rapidly down the rankings. The baton has passed to the English-speaking nations, enjoying a free-market revival over the past 15 years, transforming the power structure inside and outside the EU. Britain's economy is now substantially bigger than that of France, and London is by far the richest city in Europe. The Irish are richer per capita than the Germans. The Spanish, enjoying their own spectacular revival in confidence after the self-imposed isolation of the Franco dictatorship, have aligned themselves with the Anglo-Saxons. Holland and the Scandinavian states have embraced the internet age with a fervour matching California, and all have been through the labour market reforms that Paris and Berlin only talk about. Together with the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians, all brimming with optimism, and can-do spirit, these nations form a "New Europe" of sorts, more or less coinciding with the core of pro-American states singled out for praise by Mr Rumsfeld, who dismissed France and Germany as the "Old Europe". Tim Garton Ash, a European expert at St Anthony's College, Oxford, said the terms "new" and "old" confuse the issue. "What we're really seeing is a 'new Germany' that is willing to stand up for its own national interest and viewpoint, which in this case is a combination of anti-war feeling and anti-Americanism. This is something we haven't seen before," he said. Nor is "Old Europe" necessarily a good description for two countries that launched the most ambitious currency union ever seen a year ago and are now pushing for the wildly ambitious goal of a full judicial, military and diplomatic union of 15 states, with different languages and intense tribal loyalties, against all historical precedent. xponent Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes Maru rob ________________________________ You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
