Globalisation : the Anglo-Saxon approach
La Revue Parlementaire s'est associée à son homologue anglais
The House Magazine* pour une analyse de l'actualité britannique.
Son directeur éditorial Richard Hall nous livre sa réflexion
sur l'Europe face à la globalisation, thème arrêté par les chefs
d'Etats et de Gouvernements de l'UE lors du sommet de Hampton
Court du 26 et 27 octobre.
EU heads of government assemble in Hampton Court this week for
a summit chaired by British prime minister Tony Blair.
The 15th century palace, in south west London, was where king
Henry VIII spent three of his six honeymoons. Mr Blair will
be hoping that his presidency of the EU will not suffer the
same ill-fate as Henry's dysfunctional marriages.
Mr Blair will arrive at the summit in good heart. The damage
he sustained at May's general election, when his parliamentary
majority was slashed from 165 to 67, has largely been repaired.
The 2012 Olympic victory, his measured response to the July
terror attacks and the diversion of media interest towards the
Conservative leadership contest have taken the political heat
off the prime minister. With at best three years left before
he leaves Downing Street, Blair's mind is moving away from micro-management
and towards broadbrush 'legacy' issues. This may explain his
determination to leave the constitution and budget to one side,
and for Hampton Court to be a relaxed, agenda-free meeting where
leaders can discuss lofty affairs such as the EU's approach
to the challenges posed by globalisation. But on this subject
Blair may well find himself closer to the position of the new
EU members rather than the traditional powers of Germany and
France. Labour's approach to the growing economic threat of
emerging markets such as China and India has been to emphasise
flexible labour markets and limit taxes on business - whilst
working towards the goal of social justice. Indeed pensions
reform in the UK is far overdue and part of the reason for the
delay is the need not to load too much of the burden onto businesses.
This 'Anglo-Saxon' approach has been enthusiastically followed
by post-communist Poland and the Czech Republic, but Blair -
in his temporary capacity as EU chair, and his seemingly permanent
role as crusading reformer - is frustrated by 'Old' Europe's
unwillingness to break from the post-war welfarist consensus.
In Downing Street it is believed that former German chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder's reforms have not gone far or fast
enough - and Jacques Chirac, alongside his prime ministers,
has not tackled the task of paring down France's welfare state
with enough vigour. He believes this explains Europe's sluggish
economic performance in the face of accelerating globalisation.
The prime minister may well have hoped that a decisive electoral
victory for Angela Merkel in last month's German elections
would have helped move the argument in his favour. Her wafer
thin victory limits the capacity for serious structural economic
reform. With Blair's time in power getting short, his remaining
hope for building an agenda for economic reform may lie with
France's interior minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas
Sarkozy. Indeed that would have been food for thought when Sarkozy
and Blair enjoyed a private dinner in London earlier this month.
As he surveys the meeting room at Hampton Court, and advocates
his case for economic reform hand-in-hand with social justice
across the continent, Blair will be hoping for some heavyweight
support. That won't come from the French seat. Blair will hope
that his political marriages with the incoming leaders of 'Old
Europe' are more productive than those he endured with their
predecessors.
*The House Magazine a été créé en 1976 par un groupe de
députes afin de traiter et débattre de l'ordre du jour parlementaire
de manière impartiale mais incisive. Il est depuis 30 ans l'hebdomadaire
des parlementaires britanniques.
En bref
Asie Centrale
Le 4 décembre prochain se tiendront les élections présidentielles
au Kazakhstan. Longtemps ignoré ce pays d'Asie centrale risque
pourtant de jouer un rôle majeur à l'avenir. En effet, son positionnement
géopolitique et ses richesses en ressources naturelles - le
Kazakhstan devrait produire d'ici 2015 l'équivalent de la production
actuelle de pétrole des Emirats arabes unis - constituent une
réelle opportunité pour nos entreprises. La France ne peut et
ne doit l'ignorer explique en substance le Président du groupe
d'amitié France-Kazakhstan au Sénat, Aymeri de Montesquiou
(Gers-Radical-UMP) dans un rapport remis au Premier ministre
fin août. Pour le sénateur, en Asie centrale, "la définition
d'une stratégie de présence française doit s'accompagner d'un
véritable investissement politique au plus haut niveau".
Le président de la République Jacques Chirac avait alors
annoncé un déplacement au Kazakhstan fin octobre mais c'était
avant son accident de santé. Depuis rien n'a été programmé au
grand dam des autorités du Kazakhstan.
Mercosur
En décembre prochain, le Venezuela va devenir membre permanent
du Mercosur afin de renforcer la coopération entre le cinquième
producteur mondial de pétrole et ses voisins sud-américains.
Pour le président Hugo Chavez "l'adhésion du Venezuela
renforcera le potentiel de l'organisation fondée par l'Argentine,
le Brésil, l'Uruguay et le Paraguay". Jusqu'à ce jour, le
Venezuela, comme le Pérou, la Bolivie et le Chili, n'a que le
statut de membre associé, qui l'empêche de prendre part aux
accords douaniers du Mercosur. L'adhésion formelle du Venezuela
aura lieu en décembre à Montevideo (Uruguay) lors du sommet
annuel de l'organisation, a précisé Hugo Chavez.
Imprimer