Brussels diary

To avoid a referendum on a new "mini-treaty," Gordon Brown may need the help of the Lib Dems. But will Britain's most Europhile party put Europe before vox populi?
July 27, 2007
All eyes on the Liberal Democrats

Given his dislike of EU ministerial meetings and habit of preaching to his colleagues, Gordon Brown may not be a Eurocrats' idea of an ideal British premier. But by comparison with more rabble-rousing Eurosceptic leaders, such as Poland's president Lech Kaczynski or the Czech Republic's Václav Klaus, he is at least regarded as amenable to reason. So the question now being asked is whether Britain's new prime minister can deliver on any promises he may make on a new "mini-treaty" designed to replace the European constitution. Britain made it clear months ago that it would not sign up to a treaty unless it was watered down enough to avoid the need for a politically suicidal British referendum. That means the text must be presentable to the public as substantially different from the constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. So now the question is whether there will be sufficient parliamentary support for this view—in other words, enough to achieve ratification—in Britain. Brussels officials are already making their calculations. Only one or two Tories are likely to come to Gordon's aid should he decide to push the treaty through the Commons. Given that some Labour MPs are likely to vote against, that makes the Liberal Democrats' position central. EU officials are encouraged by whispers that the Lib Dems may be willing to abandon their current call for a referendum, so coming to the aid of Gordon—and Europe.

Solana's chance

One consequence of the latest efforts to exhume the remains of the European constitution is a certain revival of morale among the team working for Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy supremo. Solana was thought to be on the verge of quitting his post of high representative, a job which has yielded more air miles than diplomatic triumphs. But the prospect of a new, slimmed-down mini-treaty has revived the possibility of the creation of a European foreign minister—the job Solana has always coveted. Whether or not the title survives negotiations, the position created would still be considerably more powerful than Solana's current post. Another reason the Spanish ex-physicist is keen to cling on may be that no one has managed to suggest any alternative job for him.

Return to sender

The EU takes its duty of fair play seriously, even when dealing with terrorists. Hence a particularly tortured new procedure created by fonctionnaires designed to ensure that anyone placed on the EU's terror list should have the right to dispute the grounds on which their financial assets have been frozen. The EU will prepare a "statement of reasons" explaining the grounds for its action, and send it to all those identified. But what about those suspected terrorists who may not have a recorded address? After all, one suspects that the postal service is not completely reliable in the Tora Bora mountains. The EU has an answer. For those of no known address, a notice will be posted in a publication which is no doubt widely read in terrorist circles: the EU's "Official Journal."

A naked civil servant

For how much longer can Günter Verheugen survive? The EU enterprise commissioner's relationship with his chef de cabinet, Petra Erler, became a massive embarrassment for the commission last summer when photos surfaced of the two colleagues holidaying together on a nudist beach. Verheugen has denied any relationship with Erler, but was recently photographed again by the German media, this time arriving at Erler's home in the evening and leaving the following morning. What has damaged the industry commissioner is the departure of Paul Wolfowitz from the World Bank after widespread criticism of the fact that he helped land his girlfriend a well-paid promotion. As Europeans bayed for blood in the Wolfowitz affair, people started to ask questions about Verheugen's promotion of Erler to chef de cabinet last year.

After agonised discussions, commission officials have come up with an argument for distinguishing between the two cases. They now rely on the fact that all members of commissioners' cabinets are political appointees, and therefore in a different category to employees of the World Bank. The commission president, José Manuel Barroso, doesn't appear convinced by this reasoning, giving only the most non-committal backing to Verheugen. His line is that, based on what he has been told "so far," there is no reason for the commissioner to quit. Barroso is probably reluctant to throw Verheugen to the wolves on the grounds that it would only encourage the media to delve further into commissioners' private lives. But the bigger question is: will Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, withdraw her backing for Verheugen later this year after Berlin relinquishes its presidency of the EU? After all, Verheugen was nominated by Merkel's predecessor and political adversary, Gerhard Schröder. Under such circumstances, Barroso is unlikely to rush to the barricades to defend the EU's naked civil servant.