Struggling to hang together, can Poland save the Union?

“WE must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately,” Polish finance minister Jacek Rostowski warned over the weekend, quoting the phrase attributed to Benjamin Franklin as he signed the US declaration of independence.

In a way, this is to be the theme of the six-month-long Polish European Union presidency that began during the week, as they urged leaders to stop bad mouthing the Union simply to help them stay in power at home.

But however much of a truism the phrase is, this attempt to change what is a dangerous direction could be doomed to failure in January, when the Poles hand over to the Danes.

And it is the Danish government that is moving from eurosceptic words to actions.

For the first time since the abolition of borders across the continental countries of the EU 26 years ago, this week Danish officials will be back on the borders checking those coming into their country. They plan to build new border posts and introduce video surveillance of cars crossing their frontier. Because they have customs rather than border guards doing spot checks, they argue, they are not in breach of the Schengen Agreement.

The motivation behind this move to essentially abolish a key principle of the EU is a national election in the autumn, with the centre-right government desperate to maintain the support of the opposition Danish People’s Party, a right-wing, populist, anti-immigrant eurosceptic party.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk condemned the increasing tendency of political leaders to appease the hard-right as a “red light of exaggerated national” emphasis, warning it is weakening the EU community.

France, without much fanfare, also reintroduced controls for a time on its border with Italy when that country issued what were in effect bogus temporary residency documents to immigrants from north Africa in an effort to get rid of them.

With a weakened European Commission and an election in some of the 27 member states every few months, getting prime ministers to consider the broader picture of the EU is becoming nigh on impossible.

And when they do, they try to hide it from their electorate.

Issues such as the stability of the euro must be seen as a vital national interest. Unfortunately, prime ministers frequently begin with the premise that their public will be logically or otherwise against something, and they must be appeased rather than persuaded.

So we have seen German Chancellor Angela Merkel march her troops to the top of the hill several times over the past few months on issues such as “no bailouts”, only to have to change her mind as it became apparent that Germany too would be damaged by fellow eurozone states failing.

Even the Poles, who despite their refreshing wish to defend and build the EU as the best opportunity its people have in the face of global-isation, have their own issues to resolve before their election in October. For instance, in relation to joining the euro, which they are obliged to do under the terms of their EU membership.

They were on the cusp of doing so when the financial crisis ripped through the western economy and rapidly pulled back. They were the only EU member not to go into recession, and now 60% of the population are against joining the currency.

They will have their work cut out convincing their own people as well as the EU leaders that ní neart go cur le chéile — no strength without unity.