A mother of two young boys
Any meeting of EU ambassadors scheduled for 11th September was always likely to be unusually solemn. This year, Rockwell Schnabel, US ambassador to the EU, and Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, had been invited along to mark the anniversary. But as the meeting assembled, news came through of a fresh tragedy-Anna Lindh had died. Sven-Olof Petersson, Sweden's man at the EU, gave a short speech paying tribute to Lindh's career before adding, "the most important thing about her today is that she was the mother of two young boys." Several of the EU's ambassadors were clearly very moved, including John Grant-Britain's new man in Brussels-who has just arrived from a posting in Stockholm and who knew Lindh very well.
Yes, the EU really is too big
On the same day that Sweden voted no to the euro, Estonia voted yes to joining the EU. Just a year ago, there still seemed to be a few residual doubts about whether enlargement would really take place as planned. Some thought that at least one or two of the referendums in central Europe would go wrong; Jacques Chirac flirted publicly with the idea that France might throw up a last-minute roadblock. Now enlargement is not only on track-in Brussels it is a reality. Representatives of the "accession countries" (remember not to call them "candidates" any more) attend all ministerial and diplomatic meetings and say their piece. Of course, they will not have a vote until May 2004, when they formally join the union. So, for the moment, the other countries "listen politely and then move on," in the words of one diplomat. But fears that the discussions might prove to be unwieldy with 25 participants are already being vindicated. Take the general affairs council where foreign ministers meet. They are usually accompanied by their Europe minister and at least one or two officials. This means that there can be as many as 100 people in the room at any one time. "It's like a football crowd. All sense of intimacy and all possibility of having a real give- and-take has been lost," laments one participant. There is still some hope that European summits might entail real discussion, since only heads of government contribute at the main meetings. But even then, if all participants insist on the right to make an opening statement, it could take 90 minutes just to do the traditional tour du table. The obvious solution is for prime ministers or presidents to speak only if they actually have something important to say. The trouble is that many of the heads of government from the new member states have a domestic political need to be seen as players at Europe's top table. Their national media might not appreciate learning that their prime minister had sat through an entire meeting without opening his mouth.
Polish troublemakers
One country that can be relied upon to have its say is Poland. Indeed, the Poles are regarded with considerable nervousness in Eurocratic circles. It is something of a Brussels clich? that the Poles will be the new Spanish-unyielding at the bargaining table and impossible to ignore because of their big voting weight. The Poles genially deny that they intend to cause trouble. Their ambassador to the EU, Marek Grela, insists that his country has often shown a willingness to compromise in the greater European interest. Still, those who are nervous about Polish attitudes to Europe might not be reassured by a large (and hideous) painting in the lobby of the Polish representation in Brussels. The painting shows a large-breasted woman apparently being violated by a mechanical bull. Its title is Divine Poland, Raped by Pagan Europe. The Polish foreign minister apparently freaked when he saw these undiplomatic sentiments painted in large letters on the canvas. An order went out that "raped by Pagan Europe" should be painted over. This order was duly carried out. But scratch beneath the surface and the words-and sentiments?-are still there.
Good news for the Turks
A Europe of 25 is one thing. But if the EU's timetable proceeds as planned, by 2007 Bulgaria and Romania will have joined the merry band, making it a Europe of 27. One key Eurocrat says there are "serious doubts in both cases about whether they can meet their target of joining in 2007." The problem, according to our man in the Brussels high rise, is that democratic structures remain very weak and corruption is rampant. He goes on to say that "the fight against corruption in these countries is hopeless because the judiciary is infected." But this will probably mean only a slight delay; the commission reckons that the two countries will be members by 2009. How reassuring. Meanwhile, the Turks have been told that by the end of 2004 they will get a verdict on whether they are fit to begin negotiations to join the EU. A year ago, the Eurocrats put Turkey's chance of making this deadline at just 10 per cent. But they have been seriously impressed by the pace of reform in Ankara and now put the chances of a thumbs up to negotiations at 50-50. This prospect is greeted with depression in many parts of the commission. One commissioner says that almost none of his colleagues has any enthusiasm for Turkish membership. And some commissioners-particularly Loyola de Palacio and Frits Bolkestein-are viscerally opposed. Not that it will make any difference.
