Luuk van Middelaar presents another history of European construction which involves an analysis of the different discourses on Europe, the influence of international events and the late search for democratic legitimacy.
The transition to Europe. Story of a beginning is a revised version of the thesis that Luuk van Middelaar wrote under the supervision of Marcel Gauchet. The author sets himself the ambitious goal of capturing “ the true political nature of the Union » European (p. 10). The originality of the approach lies in the fact that Van Middelaar considers the Union from the 1950s to the present day without however adopting a chronological order. It is rather a matter of analyzing various stages of the development of the European Union to identify its political singularity, because “ the truth of politics can only be understood over time » (p. 14).
Three speeches on the European Union
This approach is intended to be innovative. The foreword and prologue show how it stands out from the debate between federalists and sovereignists. Furthermore, according to Van Middelaar, the political nature of the Union can only be grasped if one is wary of words and speeches. Van Middelaar refuses jargon. While extremely well informed on technical issues, this book does not presuppose any specialist knowledge of institutional mechanisms and the multitude of acronyms and neologisms by which they are often referred to. Furthermore, the author identifies and deconstructs three types of discourse on the European Union, of which he highlights the ideological and normative foundations as well as the historical origins. Van Middelaar thus distinguishes a speech on “ Europe of States » linked to confederalism and whose academic supporters are mainly historians and specialists in international relations ; a speech on “ citizens’ Europe » linked to federalism, which does not yet have academic foundations ; and a speech on “ Europe of Offices » linked to functionalism, mainly held by economists, sociologists and political scientists. These discourses combine to generate three other dominant discourses: intergovernmentalism (Offices and States), supranationalism (Offices and Citizens), and constitutionalism (States and Citizens). However, according to Van Middelaar, these discourses do not allow us to account for the historicity of European construction. This critical part is beneficial. It provides a simple account of the proliferation of discourses on the European Union without caricaturing existing studies. Furthermore, it shows that the different theories aiming to explain European integration are not exempt from political preferences on the path that the European project should take. Van Middelaar does not lack intellectual audacity when he immediately identifies and distances these discourses.
The Europe of three spheres
The author then considers political Europe from three points of view. There outer sphere is defined by its geographical limits. It includes the sovereign states of the continent (“ the European concert ), driven by the search for their own interest. There inner sphere is based on the treaty signed in 1951. It is made up of European institutions and is driven by the search for community interest. There intermediate sphere is made up of the Member States of the Union and is more difficult to define. In this sphere, each State seeks its own interest while having a growing awareness of community interest. The book focuses on this sphere which is, according to Van Middelaar, poorly understood. It would be by grasping the particular nature of interstate relations at this level that we could shed light on the nature of the Union. However, it is sometimes difficult to understand how the conception of interstate relations which underlies the intermediate sphere differs from the classic intergovernmental conception criticized by Van Middelaar.
The first two parts of the book attempt to explain the “ passage to Europe » taking the founding fathers and heads of government as actors. The first part (“ The secret of the table “) is the most innovative. Van Middelaar shows that the choice of majority rule or, to put it another way, the abandonment of the right of veto, by the Member States allowed them to constitute themselves as a political body. Van Middelaar sheds light on a fundamental point which, in our opinion, is rarely noted in European studies. To characterize the Union, we have more often highlighted the delegation or abandonment of sovereignty. The transition to majority is the concrete translation of this. The author shows very convincingly how it was essential both for the adoption of the treaties and for the day-to-day legislative decision-making in the Council. Another remarkable originality of this first part is Van Middelaar’s rereading of the Luxembourg compromise. This 1966 text put an end to the empty chair crisis. For several months, France had not sat on the Council because the French delegation had refused to allow a decision in the agricultural field to be taken by majority. By the Luxembourg Compromise, the parties recognize that when the vital interest of a State is threatened, it must not be put in the minority and that a solution must be found to satisfy it. While this compromise is usually considered a failure — the crystallization of opposition between the proponents and opponents of the majority legislative decision — Van Middelaar shatters the consensus. According to him, the compromise means that the French recognize the Treaty and that the five other members of the Council recognize that crucial national interests cannot be neglected in the name of Europe. This compromise allowed the intermediate sphere to exist.
A new story of European construction
In the second part (“ The whims of fortune ), the author attempts to show how the European Union was formed in response to international events. The Union thus appears as a diplomatic construction. This reading deviates from many studies which highlight the economic foundations of the European Union. The author thus delivers an original narration of European construction. For example, the European Convention, which has mainly been studied for its internal functioning, is approached through foreign policy. Van Middelaar relates the work of the Convention to the context of the war in Iraq. This part is based on many anecdotes but a little too often on reported remarks (for example from Mitterrand). This method is dangerous because we rarely have proof that the actors actually delivered the speeches attributed to them. Furthermore, by focusing on the action of heads of state and government, the diplomatic concept proposed by Van Middelaar may seem reductive. We may also regret that the consequences of enlargement to the East and the way in which it modifies or not the European project are dealt with quickly.
The search for democratic legitimacy
This story centered on heads of state highlights, in a symptomatic and, so to speak, cruel manner, the lack of democratic legitimacy of the European Union. Before the final part of the book opens, the role of European citizens and the democratic control of the action of heads of state had almost never been mentioned by the author. This last part — entitled “ The quest for the public » — finally addresses this subject by analyzing the efforts of “ top-down democratization » : « the movement came from politicians floating in the air and seeking stable ground » (p. 420). Van Middelaar provokes the reader by calling “ applause chase » the search for democratic legitimacy by those involved in European construction. Within a dense picture, he distinguishes three strategies used to win popular consent. There German strategy consists of “ convince “. Van Middelaar catalogs the measures intended to arouse European sentiment — flag, anthem, euro… The Roman strategy,” panem and circum “, consists of distributing social and legal goods — right of establishment in the different Member States, regional aid, common agricultural policy, etc. Greek strategy consists of giving a voice to the people, by involving them in the process of European construction – for example by instituting the election by universal suffrage of the European Parliament. Van Middelaar does not hesitate to analyze the demagogic aspect of some of these policies of conquest and avoids easy theses, such as that according to which the European Parliament, by its mere existence, would increase the democratic legitimacy of the Union. He underlines this paradox: for thirty years, citizens have increasingly lost interest in Parliament, while the formal skills of this institution have increased. By offering a typology of the various attempts at top-down democratization and analyzing their failure, the author addresses a point that, to our knowledge, is little discussed in existing studies.
However, Van Middelaar considers strategies to “ attract and hold the audience’s attention » (p. 342) actions which are not necessarily actions. To be able to speak of strategy, an actor must consciously use a method to achieve a distinct goal – in this case, the legitimacy of the Union. However, it is sometimes difficult to identify the strategist and, consequently, to understand why this or that policy emanating from Brussels can serve as a strategy aimed at convincing Europeans of the legitimacy of the European Union. That the European flag or anthem is part of a (German) strategic approach can be understood because they are only symbols. But if any public policy decided in Brussels is a strategy to establish its legitimacy – like the pages which describe the strategy “ panem and circum » suggest it by referring to the common agricultural policy, freedom of movement or regional aid — we no longer know what the political nature of the Union that Van Middelaar seeks to identify consists of. Thus, at the end of this third part, we are convinced of the singularity and political complexity of the European Union. We are also troubled by the complete failure of its democratization. But the “ political nature » of the Union seems even more enigmatic – in this sense the work has the merit of stimulating questioning. The thesis that Van Middelaar defends in the third part provokes the reader, but the argument lacks nuance. The author focuses on the main actors in European construction by talking unilaterally about democratization from top to bottom. Civil society and national parliaments seem passive ; their initiatives are perhaps not without impact on the “ audience » European.
Generally speaking, we could also regret that by postulating that “ the political motives of living together ultimately trump economic interests » (p. 11), Van Middelaar neglects economic factors. Furthermore, the author’s style can sometimes be disconcerting with its emphasis. Thus, it is perhaps not necessary to appeal to Moses and the Ten Commandments to explain that, unlike these, modern constitutions are revisable. The very frequent use of metaphors does not always clarify the point and can prove irritating – as when in the second part of the work, the author refers multiple times to “ Lady Fortune » to signify the role of contingency in European construction. However, by sharing with us his detailed knowledge of European construction and by highlighting its many originalities, Van Middelaar offers a stimulating, useful and personal work.