Is industry rushing in where politicians fear to tread? For 25 years it is has been a golden rule of British defence discourse that Europe was bad, America good. Now this ideology has been turned on its head. BAE, the giant monolithic creation of Thatcher-era defence policy is looking across the Channel, not the Atlantic, for a future. The proposed merger with EADS, the Franco-German aerospace giant that encompasses Airbus, will create?a new, world rank European defence and aerospace firm, employing nearly a quarter of a million workers and with a stock market worth of ?30 billion ? about 25 per cent of the EU?s budget.
The size of the new enterprise is less important than the significance of the decision by BAE to turn to Europe for its future. Despite protests from Eurosceptic Conservative MPs and predictable whining from some of the anti-EU commentariat in the off-shore owned press, British ministers appear to have accepted the idea.
This reflects the deep schizophrenia at the heart of the British ruling class. Its political wing, represented by David Cameron, William Hague, George Osborne and Liam Fox, have made it an article of faith for two decades that all of Britain?s ailments stem from Europe. The announcement of a referendum and repatriation policy in the summer?- foreign secretary William Hague?s call for a root and branch examination of what powers or competences might be repatriated from Brussels combined with David Cameron being the first prime minister to say he could envisage a referendum on Britain?s future in Europe ? is the culmination of a long political journey by the Thatcher generation of Conservative politicians.
Some want a new future for Britain as a bigger off-shore Switzerland or Norway while others dream of a looser EU treaty in which the Eurozone nations craft a federal future while Britain has access to the single market but does not have to accept EU supervision of banking or any other common rules like the European Arrest Warrant or the requirement to have open borders for EU citizens.
But the ruling class is more than a single party, especially one with an uncertain electoral future. The deep British state, while irritated by Brussels meddling knows that today as ever, a Britain isolated from continental Europe has little future.??Britain runs big trade deficits with the so-called BRIC nations and despite the slow-down in the Eurozone, still exports far more to mainland Europe than Asia, Latin American and Africa combined. The City makes most of its money trading in Europe and linked regions like the former Soviet empire and the Gulf.
On foreign policy, the only time a British foreign secretary has weight is when he speaks to promote a common policy agreed with fellow EU foreign ministers. On Iran, on Syria, on the Middle East, or on Zimbabwe, Britain eithers persuades bigger EU partners to share our foreign policy ideas or goes along with the policy proposals emanating from Paris and Berlin and endorsed at the regular council of foreign ministers held under EU auspices.
Most importantly, there is no longer any appetite in Washington for endorsing Eurosceptic posturing in London. The disgrace and shame of Rupert Murdoch has weakened the most important transatlantic expression of anti-European contempt.??A decade ago, there was genuine concern in the US at the idea of EU defence?policy leading to the decoupling of Europe from Nato.
These fears have turned out to be groundless. European soldiers are fighting and falling as US auxiliaries in Afghanistan. France and Britain were helpless in their military push to topple Gaddafi without US military help and supervision. France rejoined Nato under Sarkozy and the new socialist government in France is not going to reverse that decision. EU defence budgets are falling. America looks on a world in which the growing economic might of China is being translated into military power able to challenge US hegemony. It sees decades of conflict generated by Islamist ideology which will require a security response. America needs help and a fragmented, weak, Balkanized European defence politics is of no use.
European defence remains incoherent with a dozen different competing miniature military-industrial complexes existing on a national basis with no political will to pull together Europe?s pigmy defence firms to make a single European tank, warship, helicopter, or even rifle and bullets. EU member states have their own dreams of producing French, Italian, Spanish or British drones instead of a single Eurodrone.
Thus while British politicians wallow in their Europhobia or in Labour?s case, a deep nervousness in talking or thinking about Europe,??British capitalism with the endorsement of Washington and the tacit support of the Whitehall apparatus have decided to cross the Rubicon or Channel and create a single European defence and aerospace industry. This is as big a development as the creation of the Coal and Steel Community in 1950. But unlike 1950, Britain is in the vanguard. All is not settled. British unions rightly want to ensure that the defence jobs in the UK are not?relocated. France?s President Hollande is nervous about giving up state influence via golden shares in the new company. But the logic is remorseless. This is one of the biggest acts of European integration since the Maastricht Treaty. British, German and French defence industry leaders are investing in more Europe. European foreign ministers are this week talking of more common foreign policy and a new democratic settlement based on creating links between national parliament and the Strasbourg Assembly. Meanwhile Tory MPs fill Westminster Hall to demand Britain detaches itself from Europe. Who will win this argument? British industrial capital or isolationist Tory politicians and ministers egged on by the off-shore press? And what does Labour or the once Europhile Lib Dems have to say?
Denis MacShane is a Labour MP and former Europe minister.
Photo: waldopepper
Britain and France Push Forward on Biggest European Integration Project in 20 Years
By Denis MacShane
Is industry rushing in where politicians fear to tread? For twenty five years it is has been an golden rule of British defence discourse that Europe was bad, America good. Now this ideology has been turned on its head. BAE, the giant monolithic creation of Thatcher-era defence policy is looking across the Channel, not the Atlantic for a future. The proposed merger with EADS, the Franco-German aerospace giant that produces the Airbus, will create??a new Euro defence and aerospace world-rank firm, employing nearly a quarter of a million workers and with a stock market worth of ?30 billion ? about 25 per cent of the EU?s budget.
The size of the new enterprise is less important than the significance of the decision by BAE to turn to Europe for its future. Despite protests from Eurosceptic Conservative MPs and predictable whining from some of the anti-EU commentariat in the off-shore owned press, British ministers appear to have accepted the idea.
This reflects the deep schizophrenia at the heart of the British ruling class. Its political wing, represented by David Cameron, William Hague, George Osborne and Liam Fox, have made it an article of faith for two decades that all of Britain?s ailments stem from Europe. The announcement of a Referendum and Repatriation policy in the summer??- Foreign Secretary William Hague?s call for a root and branch examination of what powers or competences might be repatriated from Brussels combined with David Cameron being the first prime minister to say he could envisage a referendum on Britain?s future in Europe ? is the culmination of a long political journey by the Thatcher generation of Conservative politicians.
Some want a new future for Britain as a bigger off-shore Switzerland or Norway while others dream of a looser EU treaty in which the Eurozone nations craft a federal future while Britain has access to the single market but does not have to accept EU supervision of banking or any other common rules like the European Arrest Warrant or the requirement to have open borders for EU citizens.
But the ruling class is more than a single party, especially one with an uncertain electoral future. The deep British state, while irritated by Brussels meddling knows that today as ever, a Britain isolated from continental Europe has little future.??Britain runs big trade deficits with the so-called BRIC nations and despite the slow-down in the Eurozone, still exports far more to mainland Europe than Asia, Latin American and Africa combined. The City makes most of its money trading in Europe and linked regions like the former Soviet empire and the Gulf.
On foreign policy, the only time a British foreign secretary has weight is when he speaks to promote a common policy agreed with fellow EU foreign ministers. On Iran, on Syria, on the Middle East, or on Zimbabwe, Britain eithers persuades bigger EU partners to share our foreign policy ideas or goes along with the policy proposals emanating from Paris and Berlin and endorsed at the regular council of foreign ministers held under EU auspices.
Most important there is no longer any appetite in Washington for endorsing Eurosceptic posturing in London. The disgrace and shame of Rupert Murdoch has weakened the most important transatlantic expression of anti-European contempt.??A decade ago, there was genuine concern in the US at the idea of EU defence??policy leading to the decoupling of Europe from Nato.
These fears have turned out to be groundless. European soldiers are fighting and falling as US auxiliaries in Afghanistan. France and Britain were helpless in their military push to topple Gaddafi without US military help and supervision. France rejoined Nato under Sarkozy and the new socialist government in France is not going to reverse that decision. EU defence budgets are falling. America looks on a world in which the growing economic might of China is being translated into military power able to challenge US hegemony. It sees decades of conflict generated by Islamist ideology which will require a security response. America needs help and a fragmented, weak, Balkanized European defence politics is of no use.
European defence remains incoherent with a dozen different competing miniature military-industrial complexes existing on a national basis with no political will to pull together Europe?s pigmy defence firms to make a single European tank, warship, helicopter, or even rifle and bullets. EU member states have their own dreams of producing French, Italian, Spanish or British drones instead of a single Eurodrone.
Thus while British politicians wallow in their Europhobia or in Labour?s case, a deep nervousness in talking or thinking about Europe,??British capitalism with the endorsement of Washington and the tacit support of the Whitehall apparat have decided to cross the Rubicon or Channel and create a single European defence and aerospace industry. This is as big a development as the creation of the Coal and Steel Community in 1950. But unlike 1950, Britain is in the vanguard. All it not settled. British unions rightly want to ensure that the defence jobs in the UK are not??relocated. France?s President Hollande is nervous about giving up state influence via golden shares in the new company. But the logic is remorseless. This is one of the biggest acts of European integration since the Maastricht Treaty. British, German and French defence industry leaders are investing in more Europe. European foreign ministers are this week talking of more common foreign policy and a new democratic settlement based on creating links between national parliament and the Strasbourg Assembly. Meanwhile Tory MPs fill Westminster Hall to demand Britain detaches itself from Europe. Who will win this argument? British industrial capital or isolationist Tory politicians and ministers egged on by the off-shore press? And what does Labour or the once Europhile LibDems have to say?
Denis MacShane is a Labour MP and former Europe minister.
Conservatives, defence, Europe, euroscepticism, integration, isolationist, security
Source: http://www.progressonline.org.uk/2012/09/19/british-capitalisms-european-embrace/
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