|
|
|
|
Washington and Brussels are from the Moon…
|
by
Franck Biancheri:
President of TIESWeb and Director for Studies and Strategy
of Europe 2020.
24/06/2003 |
|
|
though of course they do not come from
the same side of the Moon!
This is something I learned in past years
and it seems to me that the Iraq crisis
illustrated it. Washington comes from
the bright side of the Moon and shines
all over the world under global media
spotlights; while Brussels, coming from
the dark side of the Moon, is pretty much
invisible to everybody, including European
citizens. But despite these 'light' differences,
the key thing is that they do not belong
to Earth.
I know that some say Americans come from
Mars and Europeans from Venus. But it
does not match my experience when crisscrossing
both continents. While one thing I know
for sure is that those who write these
things tend to live on the Moon too, either
in Washington or in Brussels
most
often moving from one to the other
like most 'specialists' of transatlantic
relations.
Can
we expect 'Mooners' to solve very earthly
problems such as future EU/US relations?
Because in the end, when we come to the
point of relations between Americans and
Europeans, this is what it is all about.
Can Washington and Brussels help solve
the growing number of disputes between
USA and EU? Well, the fact they both are
from the Moon does not push for optimism,
because it puts both of them very far
away from us and our problems. It even
seems that both their differences and
similarities tend to prevent any problem
to be solved soon.
Even
the way Washington and Brussels look at
God differs
Meanwhile as they do not see the same
sky, they tend to understand differently
what is going on. Washington tends to
think that serious Europeans/Americans
relations started with WWII (as if before
they were just 'politically incorrect').
While Europeans tend to think that WWII
era was definitely closed down with the
end of the Iron Curtain, and a new era
in EU/US relations thus opened.
They also do not consider God in the same
way. While Washington expects all Americans
(and the rest of the world) to believe
that God is American. Brussels tend to
argue that God has nothing to do with
being European.
They equally differ in the vision of the
future. Brussels, being on the dark side,
does not know how its future will look
like; while Washington is full of certainties
on what tomorrow will deliver.
Washington
and Brussels reflect one another across
the Atlantic Ocean
Not only their differences, but also their
similarities tend to separate them.
They both reflect an old dated way of
organizing power, centralistic, rooted
in XVIIIth century visions, more and more
at odds with societies trends for decentralization,
networking, autonomy.
They both nurture the Empire dream, which
requires an opposing force, an opposing
Empire to be able to exist and mobilize
forces and people.
They both speak a lot of values and principles,
such as democracy, freedom,
while
caring more about power, influence and
money
which fits much better with
their dwellers, essentially made of bureaucrats
and lobbyists.
The
true 'Mooners': the 'Baby Boomers'
And last but not least, both cities are
run by the true 'Mooners': the 'Baby Boomers'
generation. This generation (at least
in politics) never could leave up with
its dreams, and keeps on confusing wishful
thinking and objective assessment. They
compose most of both capitals 'think-tanks'
where thinking is light while tanks are
full. They both can conceive 'grand strategies'
where they take command of 'History'.
Brussels' talks in the mid-90s about 'being
Europe's makers' may echo today's talks
in Washington about the 'US Empire standing
the test of time'.
It
took about 5 years for Brussels to brutally
discover that it was much more complicated
to build Europe than what it looked like
from a 'Mooner perspective'. Let's guess
that similar experience will be developed
by Washington in the coming 5 years. And
in between essential Transatlantic innovations
will happen neither in Brussels, neither
in Washington.
But
of course, despite all that, much may
be expected from next EU/US Summit in
Washington!
|
|
|
|
|
Subscription
|
|
|
Special
Files |
|
|
Interviews
|
|
|
News
Headlines |
|
|
Quiz
|
| |
|
| |
|