Publications by Author: Le Corre, Philippe

2004

The expansion of the European Union this week, as well as elections to the European Parliament in June, make 2004 a crucial year for the EU. In many ways it was also supposed to be Tony Blair's year.

For many Europeans, the British prime minister was the top contender for the political leadership of Europe. The position of president of the European Union, whose creation he advocated, was meant to be his. However, the past 12 months have had a devastating impact on Britain's position in Europe. Blair's support of the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq has compromised his European ideals and ignored the views of European public opinion.

Just like Italy's Silvio Berlusconi or Australia's John Howard, Blair now faces the risk of an electoral fiasco. Many of his Labor voters still have not fully digested the implications of going along with the US "preemptive strike" against Saddam Hussein's regime. The elections to the European Parliament in June will most probably give a warning to the British leader.

As for his U-turn announcement on a possible referendum on the EU's new constitution, British and European commentators have unanimously condemned it as an opportunistic move by the prime minister in order to outplay his Conservative opponents during the upcoming electoral campaign. Fellow European politicians such as the former Irish premier John Bruton accused Blair of showing "no leadership on European issues."

From his 1997 landslide victory to the fall of 2002, Blair was the dream politician of many Europeans who saw in him the hope of their generation. In Germany, Spain, Italy, and even France, known for their conservative if not old-fashioned politicians, people were fascinated with this cosmopolitan British prime minister. He had promised to put his country at the "center of Europe" in order to end 50 years of misunderstandings between Britain and its continental neighbors.

French members of Parliament remember Blair's March 1998 pro-European speech and are still struck by the fact that he was praised by both right and center-left parties. In Germany, the ruling SPD party had had strong links with the Labor government until last year. Meanwhile, the Blair administration was filled with ambitious foreign affairs specialists open to the world, especially to Europe.

Blairites then started to play a larger role in European institutions; not only the UK Representative Office in Brussels but also European Commission directorates, and even the European Parliament's main political groups became powerful instruments of Blair's dynamic policies. In less than five years, the number of British bureaucrats increased in senior EU positions in Brussels. That was before last year's Iraqi diplomatic crisis, the most serious rift within the EU since Britain joined in 1973.

Meanwhile, Britons have become more pro-European. They have traveled more extensively across the continent and bought property. Moreover, they are encountering more and more Europeans in their own country. Whether in lifestyle, business, or the way public services are run, they realize they have a lot more in common with their continental cousins. In addition, the spread of the English language is now making them particularly comfortable with communications across Europe. It is likely that the arrival of 10 new EU members will help to unify the continent even more under a common banner.

Sadly, by splitting Europe and not calling for a British referendum on the European currency in the spring of 2003 (as originally planned), Blair has failed to recognize his countrymen's ideological and emotional proximity with continental Europe. Despite attempts to reconcile with President Jacques Chirac of France and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany on issues such as European defense and economic reforms, Blair may well have missed his chance to play a major leadership role in the new Europe.

Many pro-European British diplomats, politicians, and businessmen—not to mention pro-British Europeans—are disillusioned. In the eyes of many Europeans, Blair is now no more than an interesting politician unwilling to chose between the two sides of the Atlantic.

2003
Le Corre, Philippe. 2003. Tony Blair, les rendez-vous manqués. Editions Autrement. Publisher's Version Abstract

Tony Blair a déçu de nombreux Britanniques et Européens qui voyaient en lui le leader charismatique d’une génération. Déterminé à placer la Grande-Bretagne "au cœur de l’Europe", il a dû faire machine arrière en 2003 pour cause de crise irakienne. Le Premier ministre britannique le plus europhile depuis trente ans a finalement suivi une voie identique à celle de ses prédécesseurs en optant pour l’alliance avec l’Amérique de George W. Bush. En cela, il a affaibli l’Europe et s’est mis en porte-àfaux avec l’opinion publique européenne.

Philippe Le Corre dresse un tableau sans concession des relations entre la Grande-Bretagne et le continent. En interrogeant les plus hautes instances britanniques à Londres et à Bruxelles, il dépeint un gouvernement travailliste désireux d’imprimer sa marque sur l’Europe de 2004. Dans un monde en mutation, Tony Blair sait, malgré l’Irak, que les enjeux européens sont fondamentaux pour l’avenir. La Grande-Bretagne, autrefois si insulaire, est aujourd’hui bien plus cosmopolite et ouverte sur l’Europe. En cette année anniversaire des accords "d’Entente cordiale", signés il y a tout juste un siècle entre la France et son pays, Blair saura-t-il revenir dans le jeu européen?