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New Reoort Forms
..BUilding BlOCk"
ror United Eurooe
by
Ray
Kosanke
BRUSSELS: ..Europe is
ihreaccned, Europe is divided,
and che greacesc danger comes
from hcr divisions. The hour
has come to take action com..
mensurace wuh che dangcr....
We can comorrow build che
greacesc policical formacion and
thc grcatcst cconomic unit our
age has seen. Never will che his–
cory of che world have known so
powcrful a gachenng of free
men:·
pon in February of chis ycar al
its Council of Europe
mee1ing
in Brussels co promote Tin–
dcmans' efforts and 10 udd boch
a timctablc and a procedure
ror
accomplishing European union
over the years ahead.
The policical basi• for a
uoned Europc was given major
unpctus at thc Fcbruary mcct·
ing when former West German
Chancellor Willy Drandc an–
nounccd his candidacy for che
European Parliament when ic
holds ils firsc-evcr Europe-wide
popular cleecion two years from
now. (Delegates are presently
appoinced by the govemments
of the nme member nallons.)
An lnd;,peodenl Military
Rather startling. the Euro–
pean Movemcnt's dran declara–
tion stated lhat the ac u on
proposed by 1he Belgian prime
miniscer relating co thc forma–
tion of a common foreign policy
and a European defense effon
"muse be dccidcd and implc·
menced as early as 1976.''
While such an achievemenc is
hardly a possibilicy chis ycar un·
lcss Europe is suddenly and
dramallcally threatencd from
wichout. sceps are being taken
which will see Europe with an
increasingly independenc de·
fense s tructure with every
month chal passes.
An "lndependent European
Group" has jus1 been estab–
lished at
a
meeting
in
Rome of the
ten European NATO councries
plus Francc. ..Wichou c
interfering in national responsi–
bilities."thegroupissupposed 10
harmonile national arms equip·
mcnt plans. reach agreernents on
joint milicary projccts.and elimi–
nace overlapping in thc produc·
tion
ofEuropcan
annaments.
While similar efforts are
being ntade wilhin che official
NATO struccurc as well. this
European group has been set up
lo be independent of NATO
and of 1he Uni1ed States - pri–
marily 10 allow France 10 gec in
on the act of a Europcan de·
fensc ctfort.
At
present. intemal
Frencb politics bavc made any
Tomorrow has come and Eu·
rope is building. This is che
message from European leadcrs
acros.s che polilical speccrum in
chis ftrsc quarter of 1976. The
abovc quotc was first made in
che Haguc in 1948
al
the Con·
gress of Europe that year. lt was
ciced 10 early February chis year
by che man whom 1be ninc
hcads of government of the Eu–
ropean Eeonomic Community
chose to formulate a futuristic
repon on jusc how Europe
should go about che process of
union.
Excerots rrom the Tindemans Report
The man, Be lgian Prime
Minis ter Leo Tindemans ,
prcsenced his final drali in Jan·
uary of this ycar alicr spending
all of 1975 in Europc-wide con·
suhations. His report ís now
being used as che basic building
block from which debates, dis–
cussions. and futurc planning
are bemg launched.
The widc ranging document
(sec sccompanying box for ex·
ccrpts) calls for harmonizacion
of exiscing national policies on a
broad seale - from cre.auon of a
Europcan atmamcnts agcncy
anda common cnergy policy lo
a wide range of social reforms.
11 represents a quest for com–
mon ground among European
nations which have hiscorically
coro each other apare on che
bauleficld.
Brandito Run for Europe's
~super Parliament~
Europenn reaction to the Tin..
demans' repon runs che gamut
from "cxccllenc," "pragmacic."
"workmanlike." and "worth dis–
cussing" to "1ncomplete." "too
conscrvativc..··
'""just
another re..
pon.'" and "a plan (which will]
just creace conftict."
In spite of such crnic1sm. che
Europcan Movcrncnt - wh1ch
has long soughc Europcan uni–
fication under such lcaders as
Adenauer, Churchill. Schuman.
Spaak. Monnet, and Jean Rey
- seized on che 1indemans' re-
4
Leo Tindemans, 53-year-o/d
prime minister of
Belgium
for
the lnst
1wo years,
,~os
commis–
sioned by the other heads
of
gov·
ernment
o[
the Eruopean
Commo"
Market
10
prepare
single-handedly the /atest swdy
and rccommendatiOilS on
1hc
fu ·
wre of European uníty.
The following are the prin<iptJI
conclusions
and recommendo·
tions advanced by Mr. Tin–
demans on Jonuary 7. 1976 in
his 41-page report enlitled "Eu–
ropean
Union:
Report
to
tire Eu·
ropean
Council.
··
• Europe's Vulnerabilífy
"'During my visits (around
Europe preparing the repon) 1
was struck by the widespread
fee liog that we are vulnerable
and powerless. This is a new
experience for our peoples in
rccent history.... What weighc
do isolated voiccs have unless
they are chose of the super·
powcrs?"
• Why Europe Musl Unile
"For thircy years the relauve
we1gh1 and inftuence of our
states in che world have been
conlinually rcduced.... 8oth
incerna lly and externally, che
room for mancuver of lhc wdi–
vidual scates has decreased.
TURKEY
(Conrinued from page 3)
woo Tu rkey away from che
Wcst. and if not into thc East..
ern camp, ac least 10 a state of
ncutrality
or ''flnlandiz.ation."
Economics also plays a sig–
niflcant part 10 Turkcy's super–
power balancing act. Wich a
balance of payments deficic of
some chree billion dollars, Tur–
key desperately necds cash -
from whatever source.
"1 will do whaiiS 1n my mter·
"'The conslruccion of Europe
is the only all-1nclus1ve answcr
10 chis challenge.... 1t
is
thc
only answer which seeks every–
where co regain sorne of che
control and power which is slip·
ping from us. and co enable us
co build the sociecy in which
we
want to
Jive.
"'Al a time whcn unemploy·
ment and
inflation
are
rampant
10
all
our counlries, whcrc
everyonc questions the causes
of che weakness of our eco–
nomic
and
poliLicaJ
structures,
and when che prosperily of Eu–
rope depends oo faccors oucside
our control, the European effort
muse . .. shape a more jusi
so–
cicty in which our common val·
ues are observcd so chal we can
make our voicc heard in the
world with the power of our
union bebind it."
• Relations Wilh America
"The need for Europe co
spcak
wilh
one
voice in
its
rela·
tions wich che Uniced States is
one of che underlying reasons
for che constroccion of Europe.
A constructivc dialogue be·
twcen the European un ion. con–
scious of its idcntily, and the
leading Western policical. eco–
nomic. and military powcr. is
necessary withouc delay."
csts," Oemirel asserted recencly.
" ls it only che Uniccd Staces. the
European lnvestment Bank, che
World Bank? No. Why be satis–
lied wich che licUe chey give?"
The Soviets have recenlly
pledged over one billion dollars
worch of credits coTurlcey.
S trategic Real Estale
Though Turkcy ins•scs chat
frícndtier relatiorus wich lhc Soviec
Union will noc seriously affecc
rclat1ons with che United States,
her currcnt reasscssment of rela·
• Major Work Yel to Be Done
"European union will not be
complece until it has drawn up a
common defense polio-y."
"Therc is (prcsen cly ) no
agreemcnt
on how
to
achieve
a
common eoonomic and mone·
tary poJicy. nor is there even
any sustaincd discu$.sion of the
subject. And yet chis is a basic
rcquirement for achieving
a Eu–
ropean uníon."
• No Progress Withouc
WilltoAct
"The belief that the union is
vital and necessary will enable
us to
overcome
confticts of
in–
ceresl and differences of opio–
ion. Oo ly the will 10 ach1eve
union can give che ncccssary
powers
to thc com mon
in·
scitucions. Without this policical
kiss of life the insticulions of che
union will a lways lack sub–
scance and force."
• lf
Europe Doesn'l Unile
"What pri<:e would we pay for
inaction?The crumbling awayof
che Community. voices isolated
and orten going unheard in che
theater oftheworld. increasingly
Jess
control
over our destiny. an
unconvincing Europe wichout a
future.~·
O
lions with Washingcon may por·
tend ominously for che future.
Siuing astride one or thc
world's
mos1
slmtegic water·
way>. which way Turkey leans
in thc
future oould be a critica !
factor botb in East-West rela–
cions and big powcr diplomacy
in the broad seope of Middle
East alfairs.
In any case.
most
observers
feel tha e in che aliermath of lasc
year's arms embargo. relations
between Turkey and the U.S.
will never be che same. O
such moves wichin NATO or in
conjunction with the Americans
impossible. Thc 1EG is tryíng 10
get around chis obscaclc.
Even as che IEG was being
scc up nt ihc Rome meeting.
hack in Brussels Belgian Dc·
fensc Minister Paul Vanden
Boeynants came out with a
speech clearly des1gned to pro·
mote
E.uropcan military
unity
whilc moving away from depen–
dence on the Uniccd States for
milicary security:
"Europe can no longer satisfy
1tself by trusting che Ameri–
cans.... What will bceome of
us if the Unitcd Sta tes' nuclear
umbrella were 10 disappear co–
morrow? We'd be in rea l
trouble. Europe
must unite no1
only politically but also milita·
rily. 11 is a neccssity for our
securicy." O
JAPAN AND CHINA
(Conlinu•d from page 3)
Russian airerali concinued co lly
ovcr rcmote areas
of
Japanese
rerritory.
Tbe upshot of all chis is chal
the era of Japan's cradicionaJ
"soli Jine" toward che Soviet
Un ion appears co be over. In its
place must come much friend·
lier contacts with Peking.
The origins of Japan's beuer
relationship wu.h China began
in 1972 with President Nixon's
famed 1rip 10 Peking. Alier cbat
time, che Japanese followcd che
American lead of boih "dé–
rente"' wich che Soviet Union
aod closcr lics to the People's
Republic of China. But Japa–
nese relatiOil$ improved much
more rapidly wilh China chao
che
y
did with Russ1a.
Then carne che diseovery of
oil in China. Contrasccd with
thc frozen wasces of Siberia.
Chinese oil is relatively easy 10
extrace. The Japanese have only
been 100 eager 10 scll sophis·
licated drilling cquipmenl 10
China and hope 10 someday cap
che mainland as a sourcc ofoil.
Japanese-Chinese trade has
boomed during the pase severa!
years. Lasc year che Japanese
sold over $2.5 billion
in
indu.~·
Lrial hardware 10 the People's
Republic, making China Ja ·
pan's bese Asian customer.
Japanese Prime Miniscer
Takco Miki is known 10 favor
strengthencd lics co China. In
fact. as a young politician
in
thc
1930's. Miki accively opposcd
Japan's auack on China a• a
lime when such a stand madc
him liable 10 assassination.
In a world where che b1g
power alliances are constantly
fluid and lhe geopolitical winds
of change are continually blow–
ing, che prospect of finding che
cwo grea1 Oriental powers en·
twincd in a major alliance
IS
not
al all ao unlikely possibilicy in
che years 10 come. o
MARCH 1976