The World Today: July 2005: July 2005

The outcome of the referendums on the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands, even if widely expected, has prompted a great deal of soul-searching. Why did people so massively reject building a more integrated Europe? And, most of all, why did this happen in countries traditionally strong supporters of the project? Is British-style euroscepticism infecting the continent? Europe is clearly at a crossroads and opposition to the treaty provides an excellent opportunity, to engage the public and politicians in dialogue on reform. Europe needs to talk through a roadmap and vision for the twenty-first century. Most of all it must communicate effectively with all its people; the alternatives are not attractive.

The European Union is in crisis. It has been here before. In 1954, the European army project failed; in 1963, French President Charles De Gaulle vetoed British membership; in 1965, to resist more majority voting, Paris blocked progress by leaving its place as an ‘empty chair’. Jean Monnet, the European Union’s founding father, weathered all these storms. How would he react now?

The country most nervous about the sudden uncertainty surrounding the European Union is probably Turkey. Following years of promises, talks on its membership are scheduled to start in October. But for Ankara, this is just the latest in a series of foreign policy reverses that could have global implications.

The 3.6 million people who live in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are heavily dependent on international aid life support and yet such is the frustration of those who deliver the aid that some have wondered whether this assistance should be suspended. This extraordinary move would probably result in a calamitous humanitarian crisis and the complete collapse of the Palestinian Authority and economy. Seven billion dollars has been spent since 1993 with limited reward and the enormous sums donated are incapable of doing any more than slow the decline in Palestinian living standards.

The election in mid June of Donald Tsang as Hong Kong Chief Executive has produced a glimmer of hope that the difficult eight years since Britain returned the territory to China in 1997 may yet end. Tung Cheehwa’s resignation from the post in March – two years before the end of his second five-year term – heralded the first leadership change since the transition. And that change matters to China because of Hong Kong’s economic and political importance. Beijing also hopes to use Hong Kong to convince Taiwan that the One Country, Two Systems policy works, while Taiwan wants to keep the status quo by maintaining its distance from China.

Six months after the Asian tsunami, the emotional and physical damage is proving hard to repair. Far from putting aside political divisions, the island’s political forces are squabbling over how to distribute international aid. And instead of backing one extreme or another, the islanders are discovering the value of democratic diversity.