Gavin Hewitt, BBC European Editor, opened his talk with an anecdote about football, particularly apposite since the European Union seems to have been everyone’s favourite political football over the past couple of years.
With Andrew Franklin of Edinburgh International Book Festival as Chair, Hewitt presented his audience with some alarming figures: there had been 18,000 applications for 11 jobs with Prada, while Ikea had received 28,000 applications for 200 jobs at one of its European outlets.
Europe, Hewitt suggested, was very different following the crises of 2007-2008. The former Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King has described that time as ‘the most serious crisis since the nineteen thirties’.
What has contributed to deepening the resulting recession, in Hewitt’s view, is that the European Union has had no coherent plan to deal with default by any EU country it has lent to.
The desire on the part of many within the EU for ‘ever greater integration’ is unavoidably at odds with both the pressures of politics in individual states and the differing economies of the member states.
This last has proved to be one of the major factors for the continuation of the crisis and of resulting de-stabilisation within the EU. Partly because of this, and because most European nations (with the apparent exception of the UK), continue to accept, at least in principal, that it is desirable, the expressed wish for ‘ever greater union’ has gathered some momentum.
Although frequently seen as a reluctant member, the UK needs a strong and growing EU if its own economic recovery is not to falter. The time and scale of recovery, however, remains unknown, and the possibility of a stagnant Europe for years to come remains real.
Europe must, Hewitt believes, deliver for all its population, not merely for those in the rich North.
Andrew Franklin pointed out that many still believe the EU to be ‘undemocratic’ despite the fact that both elected MEPs and the UK Government being able to vote on every stage of the legislative process in Brussels. Although the EU single market supports almost 3.5 million UK jobs and contributes in other ways to the British economy, the sense of UK insularity and alienation from the European project remains palpable.
It may be sobering for some to remember Hewitt’s point that despite their present difficulties, 60% of Greeks wish their country to remain part of the EU.
As Hewitt suggested, an increased level of union will almost certainly have to be a part of any structural reform of the EU. It remains to be seen how many of its citizens are really prepared for that.
Gavin Hewitt - The Lost Continent (Hodder and Staughton) £20.00 (£14.99 p/b)