Transatlantic VISIONS

Will Awareness and Action Translate in Strength for EU?
by Andrea Cañón Arias: Graduate Student in International Business Administration 16/05/2003

The crisis in Iraq is a turning point in history, international relations, conflict resolution, warfare, human rights. It was up to the prime players' actions, and the international community's reactions that we can actually tell results, and more important lessons.

In my opinion there is a lot to learn, this is a great opportunity to enhance international mechanisms and cooperation, instead of experiencing a domino effect with other situations that we are witnessing. To start, more attention should be paid to disarming programs, because it is the only way that this will not be the motive or the excuse for another war. And more important, there will be more resources available to invest in humanitarian projects (education, health, agriculture).
Another valuable lesson is that even though we are becoming one global community, we still should consider cultural differences and background as well as economic status, that will obviously translate in different ways to face a conflict. Maybe from now on, we could put more emphasis in our similarities and our common goal: world order and development. This way every country can contribute in it own way to a common project without leaving anyone out, so we won't have to deal with resentments that end up in terrorism, for example.

The war even ended up putting in the spotlight everything we have been believing in and working for during decades. It made us aware of the various paradoxes we are facing in what we consider to be the "free" world, that we can no longer see everything in black and white, that our globalized world is facing growing challenges and interdependence.

In the case of the EU, there is much to say. As an integration initiative it has unlimited opportunities and potential. But in order to move forward in the process to achieve its goals, it had to stop pretending to have only one voice and that all the gaps and challenges were already covered. Today, EU's countries get to choose if they want to cooperate or to annul each other's efforts by pulling in opposite directions.

EU's decision-making process and institutions should evolve. To the eyes of the world it may sometimes be reduced to a conflict among egos and sovereignties. The most important thing to have in mind is that in-between policies, there are thousands of people who experience directly the effects of decisions; and moreover, that due to globalization and interdepence, all of us in a way or another are going to feel those effects. Which effects would EU want to experience? Is it on the right path to get there? What changes must take place? These are only a few of the questions that can cross anyone's mind. What matters is how EU wants to answer them, and how history will remember those answers.

In addition, we should also take into consideration EU's role in the international scenario and world order. It is a fact that EU concentrates several of the richest countries in the world. This richness translates in terms of wealth, economy, institutions, society, culture; therefore EU has considerable strengths that members can reach out for. But it also means that each member guards their particular strengths with a certain level of understandable jealousy, and even more, if they have to make concessions to other members.

Regardless of that, we have EU as an example of integration and policy exercising. We also see it as a key player in the global balance of power. EU evens US in an evolving international diplomatic scheme, represents a trading and investment alternative to developing countries, offers endless options for superior education and professional careers.
After giving some thought to all of this, Iraq's crisis can be seen in two rather opposite terms:

In my personal opinion, knowledge and awareness become a true strength when they are followed by action. That is exactly what EU is doing, so to me it can only be stronger after this crisis. Politicians and civil society woke-up to their actual reality. Everyone ended up realizing that for the first time they acted on their own, and that they should seek even more dialogue and agreement.

Europeans even decided to take one step further and expand the initiative. After this, members will indeed face more challenges and obstacles. But they cannot compare to the enormous potential of a stronger EU with even broader perspectives, strengths, and opportunities.

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