I've found a perfect new member for the EU. If only it were in Europe

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
Date: June 29, 2006 7:02:12 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: I've found a perfect new member for the EU. If only it were  
in Europe

Dave:

An article in today's (UK) Guardian provides a perspective on Canada  
(and Europe) that probably differs interestingly from anything in the  
US media, so is perhaps suitable for IP.

cheers

Brian


http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1808157,00.html

I've found a perfect new member for the EU. If only it were in Europe

Canada shares nearly all the values of the new Europe - as well as  
the most characteristic of its weaknesses

Timothy Garton Ash in Toronto
Thursday June 29, 2006
The Guardian

Driving through Toronto earlier this week I saw a shiny black 4x4  
with an English flag sticking out of one side window and a German  
flag out of the other. Presumably a Canadian family of mixed English  
and German origin, so rooting for both teams in the World Cup. A  
little later I saw a car with the Portuguese flag on one side and the  
Italian on the other. It occurred to me that this pretty much sums up  
what we've been trying to achieve in Europe since the second world  
war. Welcome to the European Union - in Canada.

In fact, why doesn't the European Union invite Canada to join at  
once? In most respects it would be a much easier fit than Ukraine,  
let alone Turkey. It effortlessly meets the EU's so-called Copenhagen  
criteria for membership, including democratic government, the rule of  
law, a well-regulated market economy and respect for minority rights  
(Canada's a world-leader on that). Canada is rich, so would be a much- 
needed net contributor to the European budget at a time when the EU  
has been taking in lots of poorer states. One of Europe's besetting  
weaknesses is disagreement between the British and the French, but on  
this the two historic rivals would instantly agree. English-speaking  
Canada would strengthen the Anglophone group in the EU, Quebec the  
Francophone.

Take the list of things that many Europeans consider to be most  
characteristic of us - by contrast with the United States. We  
Europeans believe that the free market should be tamed by values of  
social justice, solidarity and inclusiveness, realised through a  
strong welfare state. We don't have capital punishment. We believe  
that military force should only be used as a last resort and with the  
sanction of international law. We support international  
organisations. We love multilateralism and abhor unilateralism. We  
tend to think that men and women should be able to live more or less  
as they please with whomever they please, irrespective of gender and  
sexual orientation. We pride ourselves on our diversity. Check,  
check, check. Welcome to Canada.

. . .

This mildly amusing thought experiment - Canada as EU member - has a  
serious point. To look at Canada and its values is to understand how  
foolish it is to try to define Europe by reference to an allegedly  
unique set of "European values". Values matter, but these European  
values are shared by most Canadians more than they are by many  
Europeans. And many of these values are also shared by Americans in  
the liberal blue states of the US.

Yet another thing Canadians and Europeans have in common is an  
obsession with the United States, and with distinguishing themselves  
from it, often by crude stereotyping. A Canadian writer observes that  
his compatriots "love to yell about how modest we are". Just like  
today's Europeans. Canadians and Europeans enjoy wallowing in a sense  
of moral superiority towards the imperial hyperpower, while doing  
rather little to improve the world outside their borders. Canada's  
defence spending, at around 1.2% of GDP, is low even by European  
standards. (Among Nato members, only Luxembourg and Iceland spend  
less.) So is its foreign-aid budget, a mere 0.27% of GDP in 2004 -  
despite the fact that it was the Canadian statesman Lester Pearson  
who more than 30 years ago proposed what has become the UN target of  
developed countries spending 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid. There is the  
arrogance of power, but there is also the arrogance of impotence.

Yet this impotence is self-imposed. The potential power - military,  
economic and soft - of the established liberal democracies outside  
the US is enormous. The three largest sets are the democracies of  
Europe, most but not all gathered in the EU; the Anglosphere/ 
Commonwealth democracies, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada  
(intersecting with the Francosphere), South Africa and India (the  
world's largest democracy); and the Hispanosphere and Lusosphere  
democracies of Latin America. Between us, we have a combined GDP much  
larger than that of the US, as well as natural resources and specific  
strengths that the hyperpower cannot match. Instead of sitting round  
like a bunch of poor cousins, complaining all the time about the  
behaviour of the rich American uncle, we should be thinking what we  
ourselves can do to make a difference beyond our shores.

. . .

--
School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon  
Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/


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