War on terror threatens deep rifts between EU states

THAT old war-horse Jacques Chirac put his finger on it when he said this week that: “A few principles and a little order are needed to run the affairs of the world.”

He was advising against the US acting against Iraq without working through the UN.

But it could equally be applied to an EU that now finds itself being weakened at a time when its point of view should be most heard.

It has put together a set of principles but has mostly failed to create the little order that would ensure being heard.

The first anniversary of September 11, together with George Bush's imminent address to the UN general assembly, is giving not just the US, but its ally Europe much to think about.

The thrust of world politics has changed hugely as a result of the US terrorist attacks, but while it initially united the world, it is in danger now of dividing and creating greater tensions between major power blocks.

The Americans' eagerness to move against Iraq and its attitude to the Middle East has resulted in a barely disguised and growing hostility between many of the EU states and the US.

Divisions and jealousies between the member states themselves appear to be deepening and growing at a time when clear heads, coherent policies, confidence and respect are needed.

There must be a lesson for the EU leaders from the successes of its so-called soft polices in its foreign policy over the past two years.

This has largely coincided with a decision by member states to unite and develop a common foreign policy under Javier Solana. To date, the biggest success has been in avoiding war in Macedonia an achievement that even the most bellicose cannot sneer at. The reality is that the EU is at present weaker than the sum of its parts, a fact much in evidence with the pitiful politicking at the foreign ministers meeting two weeks ago. The pitiful politicking exposed the worst weaknesses of the EU, and as a result the International Criminal Court that every member state had signed up to is in danger of becoming a sacrificial lamb to some leaders' wishes to curry favour with the US.

Strangely, in the war on terrorism, member states found it relatively easy to harmonise on areas that concern individual citizens and their civil rights to a point that infringed human rights, according to some groups.

But the usual fault lines are showing up when it comes to devising common policies, with the UK anxious to be seen as America's ally while some suspect the German position on Iraq is being dictated by the need to win the votes in the general election.

If Europe does not find a way of uniting on this it is in danger of playing only the role assigned to it by the US, of paying for the clean-up after the war responsibility without power.