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Is Europe Better Safe than Sorry?

Judy Dempsey, New York Times | March 5, 2010

The pacification of Europe, the great geo-political feat of the 20th century, has left the continent neutered and incapable of projecting sufficient hard power. ++ A risk-averse Europe that relies too heavily on soft power as a means of influence will find it difficult to carve out a niche for itself on the global stage. ++ China, India, and Brazil ''do not take Europe seriously, at least not in the security sense,'' said Marcel de Haas from the Netherlands Institute on International relations. ++ ''Soft power and risk aversion does not interest them."

 

 
Tags: | European Foreign Policy | globalization | transatlantic relations |
 
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Efthymia Ntivi

Sat, Mar 6th 2010, 10:27

Efthymia Ntivi, college of Europe, (2)

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I think that this article underestimates the power that European Union gained exactly by being a "soft, civilian" power. European Union has managed to produce its legitimacy and its raison d’ etre by adhering to liberal principle of political and social order. If we define as the main principles of European Union the “social pluralism, the rule of law, democratic political participation and representation, private property and market-based economy" then we can see that Europe has been a structural power especially after the end of the Cold War, applying conditionality not only to its neighbors, who tried hard to be accepted by the "European Club", but also imposing to some extent those principles to countries which accept their humanitarian aid.
Additionally India and China may see EU "only for trade", but EU is the biggest trading partner in the world right now and by adhering to the promotion of free trade and WTO it has managed to create a multilateral system that is working according to its principles. Furthermore the principles of free trade are not even under discussion, it is inconceivable to think of changing regime, something that is extremely convenient for EU, whose economy profits from free trade.
Finally I do not think that today we should question if it is better to be safe than sorry in social terms, while we see Europe passing through the crisis with effects much less devastating than the ones in US, where the housing market was harmed in such a way, or where unemployed just do not take medication as they cannot be insured. Even if flexsecurity has to be introduced, this does not mean deregulation of the social security, but just concentration on productivity and competitiveness.
 

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