The heretical thought is spreading in Brussels that Gordon Brown may be one of us after all. The first sign was his speech to business leaders in January on priorities for a "global Europe." Then Brown announced his first big initiative on the European front, a Downing Street mini-summit to discuss the global economic crisis. True, the guest list put some noses out of joint and a meeting originally conceived as the gang of three leaders (Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel of Germany) evolved to the gang of five (the addition of Italy's Romano Prodi and European commission president José Manuel Barroso). But the desire for dialogue with Europeans was a definite development. Rumours were also doing the rounds that Brown might accept a speaking invitation in February in Brussels, a city for which he has previously shown limited affection. So what lies behind this transition? The truth is that in part, Brown's Euroscepticism, though real, has been exaggerated. He is a fan neither of interminable meetings in Brussels nor of the coalition-building nature of EU politics. Since moving into No 10, he has put almost no effort into courting small member states. But Brown has always seen the point in talking to Sarkozy and Merkel. He also resisted pressure from some of his more Eurosceptic advisers to announce a referendum on the treaty of Lisbon. Much of his positioning on Europe has been about presentation and worries about the press. However, when he turned up late to the signing ceremony of the Lisbon treaty in December, the Eurosceptic press turned on him. Diplomats say that Brown is aware of the perception that he is getting it wrong on Europe. More important, his advisers accept that they look as if they are on the back foot over Europe, not a position they can afford to occupy while ratification of the treaty goes through parliament. Though the Lib Dem line on a referendum is likely to be abstention, some may break ranks and vote with the Conservatives. Only a handful of Tories will side with the government. With a number of potential Labour rebels tempted to back the referendum, Brown knows he needs to assert his authority—which means getting on the front foot on the EU.
Do we need a treaty after all?
The main justification for the treaty of Lisbon is that without its institutional changes, the enlarged EU will become gridlocked. That argument has become a great deal less convincing following the publication of a study by Helen Wallace, the far from Eurosceptic professor in the European Institute at the LSE. Instead of the predicted paralysis, it's been business rather better than usual following the admission of ten countries in 2004 (it's too early to judge the impact of Romania and Bulgaria's entry, she says).There has been a modest drop in the volume of legislation adopted but also a reduction in the time lag between proposals being made and decisions. The length of time taken for cases to be decided in the European court of justice has gone down. Meanwhile, the member states which joined in 2004 have an "astonishingly good record in transposing decisions into national law" and have, on average, faced fewer infringement proceedings than their longer-established counterparts. There is no sign of the European parliament succumbing to gridlock, and the advent of the new member states has consolidated the use of English as the dominant language within the EU. Wallace's findings were not front-page news, but expect them to be rehearsed in detail as treaty ratification works its way through parliament.
A rising star in the east
Becoming a spokesperson for a European commissioner brings a good salary, pleasant working conditions and lots of travel. The problem is what to do next. Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, formally the spokesman for European commission vice-president Margot Wallström, has come up with the perfect answer: become Poland's minister for Europe.
A few months ago the amiable 35- year-old was toiling away trying to sell Wallström's lacklustre initiative to connect with the European public. Now he rejoices in the grand title of Sekretarz Komitetu Integracji Europejskiej—in other words, Poland's minister for European integration. Dowgielewicz left the press service in the middle of last year and spent a few months in Wallström's cabinet. But his rise has nevertheless been meteoric, especially since there were other, more obvious, candidates to become Europe minister, including two ex-ambassadors to Brussels. One is Jan Truszczynski, deputy director-general of enlargement in the European commission. The other is Marek Grela, director of the directorate general in the council dealing with the US, the UN, human rights and counterterrorism.
There are various theories to explain this elevation of youth over experience. The most plausible is that the new Polish premier, Donald Tusk, has deliberately picked someone who has no independent political base of support. Dowgielewicz has no alternative but to be loyal and hard-working—or find himself back at the commission.
