Macron and Merkel are recreating Fortress Europe
Photo by Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images
The battle lines are being drawn across Europe in the battle for the soul of the West. Not by the British, but by our French and German neighbours. At the signing of the Treaty of Aachen yesterday, Chancellor Merkel in effect accused Britain of undermining the values that had underpinned peace in Europe. Her message was a pessimistic, even apocalyptic one.
“Populism and nationalism are gaining strength in all our nations,” she said. “For the first time a country, Britain, is leaving the European Union. Just 74 years, a human lifetime, after the end of the Second World War, what was once ostensibly self-evident is now once again being called into question.”
President Macron reinforced Angela Merkel’s grim message. The European Union, he said, should become “the protective shield for our peoples against the new storms of the world.” He lauded plans for a European army, energy policy and its very own version of Silicon Valley. The EU is battening down the hatches.
This Franco-German message depicts Britain not just on the wrong side of the Channel, but of history too. We can expect no quarter in this existential conflict, it seems. By abandoning the EU in its hour of need, we have apparently betrayed everything we fought for in two world wars and the Cold War. France and Germany will see to it that Britain is shut out of the Continent as firmly as is compatible with international law.
This is the language, not of free trade, but of blockade. In the name of liberalism, Macron and Merkel are recreating Fortress Europe. It is not a liberalism that Adam Smith or John Stuart Mill would recognise. They spoke of European sovereignty, which is an empty concept because the EU is not a unitary state — at least not yet. But they show no sign of respecting that of the United Kingdom. Only yesterday a Brussels official warned that a no-deal Brexit meant that a hard border in Ireland would be inevitable. Since London has promised to impose no such thing, this implies that the EU intends to do so.
How will the British cope with being shut out of Europe? The latest economic forecasts are not too bad for the UK: at 1.5 per cent, growth is predicted to be similar to or slightly better than that of France and Germany respectively. Employment is at record levels and inward investment is still by far the highest in Europe.
So Britain is not in bad shape. Of course, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, an unofficial blockade by the EU would cause disruption and hardship for many on both sides. Such a blockade would be illegal and self-destructive, but it may yet happen. Napoleon tried it. So did the Kaiser. So did Hitler. They all failed to bring Britain to her knees.
Rather than let others define our values, we need a leader who can set out what we stand for. Theresa May is an improbable candidate for that role, though of course she has the opportunity to do so. But in fact anybody could do it. They don’t even have to be a Member of Parliament. He or she should explain that we have no wish to leave Europe on any but amicable terms. We ask only to be treated fairly. He or she should pose a question to Macron and Merkel. You say European Union is now to be a “shield”. Against whom, precisely?
