The labour government has yet to grow out of the complacent view that simply by not being the Tories, Brussels is just panting to acclaim them as the answer to Europe's prayers. Roger Liddle of No 10's policy unit breezed through the other day, expecting gratitude for the usual clich?s about Britain now being at the heart of Europe. Stephen Wall, Britain's perm-rep (Eurospeak for Ambassador to the EU), gave him a lunch, fielding most of the top Brits in the commission and a couple of tame foreigners. Poor Roger squirmed plumply under the unexpected roasting. He claimed Britain was so pragmatically positive about Europe that: "We'll back whatever works." He was accused of mouthing platitudes. His biggest surprise was the increasingly communautaire comments of Stephen Wall himself. Labour had originally planned to replace John Major's selection as British brake on Brussels, but then thought they had better keep his expertise with Britain's six-month term at the presidency looming so close. But Stephen has gone almost native. Britain's insistence on a distinction between the EU and the fledgling defence system of the WEU was just plain "loopy," said the man now credited with persuading John Major to stay in office at the darkest moment of the pound's humiliating rout from the ERM in 1992.
As for Gordon Brown's statement on Emu-it may have been acclaimed in London, but senior aides to Jacques Santer, commission president, said it did them few favours. Privately the word is that the speech would have been "a spectacular coup," and could have lent some force to British rhetoric about leadership-if it had been delivered some months earlier. Back in the summer, perhaps, around the time of the Amsterdam summit, or just in time to get the Luxembourg presidency off to a grand start.
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grim news for lovers of Belgium's glorious beers. They demolished the grand old 19th century De Boeck brewery the other day, claiming that the damp rot was a health and safety hazard. The Belgian Brewers Confederation announced mournfully than annual beer intake continues to fall. From 104 litres per head in 1995, the Belgian thirst dwindled to 102 litres last year, and what was once the world's highest level of consumption is now behind Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Austria and Britain. It is not yet "Mort Subite" (as one of the traditional ales is proudly named), but the slow slaking of a once-heroic thirst-part of the Europe-wide drift to wine.
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the anguish of change looms for devoted readers of the Bulletin, the weekly English-language magazine of Brussels-a sort of Time Out for the British community. The Bulletin is an institution. But change is coming. Editor Brigid Grauman has been taking the Eurostar to London to find a lively British designer to spice up the layout. She thinks she has found her new look, courtesy of the chaps who rejigged the Guardian. This is rather as if the Spectator agreed to put themselves in the hands of the design gurus of New Musical Express.
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not content with sharing its capital between Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, the EU is now looking at a futuristic scheme to create three towns of its own. These cities of tomorrow-in Germany, Finland and Italy-would allow private passenger cars only into their museums. Residents would get around on a magnetic-levitation rail system and by intelligent driverless cyber-cabs. The road system would also be designed around the bicycle. The scheme, which is getting backing from some Greens and German Social Democrats, is the brainchild of Professor Eero Paloheimo. He used to run the Future Committee of the Finnish parliament. Do not laugh. Do not even think it may not happen. What the MEPs like about the new Eurotowns is that building them would employ 20m people for 30 years. At a mere 27 billion ecus-less than the cost of this year's EU structural funds budget-MEPs say it is the most impressive jobs-for-money ratio they have ever seen. Add in the Milton Keynes effect of modern industries' preference for locating in new towns, and the prospect of a showcase for energy-efficient and wired-up communities, and the lobby for Paloheimo's towns could grow fast.
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say not the mad cows died in vain. The trade union for EU bureaucrats is getting upset about new commission proposals to do more than slap their wrists when they do something really silly. Commission President Jacques Santer wants to put some teeth into a new disciplinary code which would allow him to demote or apply financial penalties to errant Euro civil servants. The problem for the unions is if they threaten a strike, would anybody notice?
