The Decade of Divergence and Development

Abstract

Economic events, particularly the energy crisis, inflation, and recession, have had an impact on both the successes and failures of the European Community in the seventies. Accomplishments, such as the 1973 enlargement and the evolution of a global development cooperation policy, cannot be cited without the mention of EC setbacks in forming joint economic, monetary, and energy policies. The record of contemporary Community policy, with its disagreements and inaction, reflects both worldwide economic disorder and growing divergent views within the Nine. Europe has moved from a relatively insignificant status in international affairs to that of a global power, utilizing the partnership concept embodied in the pioneering Lomé agree ment, the world's largest regional economic organization. The European Community has furthermore devised extensive new lines of cooperation with two other zones of major interest through the creation of the Euro-Arab dialogue and the EC-Mediterranean grand design. These new "foreign policies" are the outgrowth of new German influence, Com mission initiative, and Third World global significance. Put in perspective, these achievements are limited by the recurrent inability to construct common Community policies and/or bring about structural reform. In order to liberate the Nine from a state of disunity, there has emerged a drive to make the European Parliament more powerful and directly elected. A democratic European legislature, with more competences, may break the deadlock but will not achieve the mandatory coherence between internal and external policies and pro cedures of the Community.