Tango or Waltz? European Dancing Stars out of Step

Two of the most unlikely people have become close dancing partners. They are, however, out of step with the music now washing over Europe.

On Wednesday, Czech president Vaclav Klaus was forced to the Lisbon Treaty table, and reluctantly signed up. His was the last EU country to ratify the treaty, which may now come into effect - he would say "force" - as early as next month.

In a humorous moment that may prove to have been an omen, his first attempt at signing failed - the pen would not work!

One day later, a senior Czech presidency official said that, when the Lisbon Treaty takes effect, the Czech Republic "will lose its state independence. One of the options for the country to bring its sovereignty back is to leave the European Union."

But is Klaus alone in hating the Lisbon Treaty? No - introducing his distant dancing partner - David Cameron, leader of the UK Conservative opposition party.

His Lisbon strategy has just been wiped out by Klaus’ reluctant signature. For some years, he has made political capital by mocking the Labor government in power, over this issue.

A pre-election promise made in 2004 by Tony Blair, to grant the British electorate a referendum on the treaty, was suddenly reversed once they began their second term in parliament.

Cameron seized on this about-face, promising that, if and when the Tories regained power, one of his priorities would be to hold that canceled referendum.

UK elections have to be held by June 2010, and there was recent speculation that the embattled Brown government would go before that time.

But, it seems now there will be no calling of an early election - the present government will see out its mandate. And, by then, the Lisbon Treaty will be in full swing.

So, shame-faced UK shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague was forced to announce on Tuesday that the Conservative promise of a referendum was - withdrawn!

Instead, Cameron, who is widely excepted to win the next UK election, has undertaken to do all he can by legal means, and over the life of the next parliament (5 years) to claw back concessions on fundamental rights, on sovereignty, and to hold a referendum on any transfer of power to Europe; for example, on whether the UK should join the Eurozone.

What a merry dance! The Czech partner wants to withdraw as soon as possible, and the UK premier-in-waiting wishes to make his moves over a five-year period. And they are both out of step with the other 25 EU member states.

It seems there are three distinct national levels of support for the Lisbon Treaty and what it means for states and citizens alike. Germany and France, for example, are staunch supporters of the EU ideal: the majority of states are in the middle ground; and at the other extreme, we have the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom, kicking and screaming about a fait accompli, a done deal.

What is this so-called "loss of sovereignty"? It is true that the balance of influence of individual member states in relation to “Fortress Europe” will change, with more responsibilities applied Europe-wide.

But this is what we all signed up for, in various ways - a united Europe that can better compete on the world stage, with more influence on the US, on China, on Russia, on the world in general.

In the UK, if the Euro is ever adopted as the country's currency, is the fact that the Queen of England's portrait will disappear from coins and notes, a loss of sovereignty?

How, in the 21st century, in the heart of Europe, will the Czechs do business with their neighbors? And, on the watery fringes of the north-west, will the UK isolate itself from its mainland contacts, turning, instead, even more to America, pleading the "Special Relationship" it believes it has with its former colony?

The French Minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche, denounced Cameron's statements in a withering UK press article published on Thursday. He accused the Conservatives of "castrating" Britain's position within the EU by adopting an "autistic" approach that would take Britain off the radar.

What of the majority of European members who have quietly got on with it, and ratified the Lisbon treaty without fuss? Bulgaria, for example, was the sixth nation to sign up, with a simple parliamentary vote, way back in March 2008.

There's very little discussion of the merits or defects of the Treaty, here in the capital Sofia. Politicians don't raise the issue, even during this last month of hysterical exposure elsewhere. The "wo/man in the street" seems not to be too bothered by the entire process, nor about any consequences it may have on him or her.

In fact, one should ask the question: how many people actually know - not just in Bulgaria - what the treaty is all about, or what will change in their everyday lives when the Treaty is adopted?

And a further question: has anyone actually bothered to read the text? Does it matter?

Returning to our dancing partners: in their various ways, but with a shared complaint of loss of statehood, they have shown themselves up as clod-hopping dinosaurs, wishing to stop or derail that "rushing train" as Klaus called it, moving towards a more integrated and enlarged European Union.

To mix metaphors, they are swimming not against the tide - but a veritable tsunami. Well, good luck to them! But spare a thought for the way they are leading - or about to lead - their citizens.

For it comes down to this, as it always should: what is the benefit to the voter, the ordinary citizen?

In Bulgaria, as in many other countries, the benefits are visible, literally, on the streets. True, there's criticism of the European Union, but it is more measured, more factual, more business-like, more practical.

Improvements in trade, transport, infrastructure, movement of citizens, cross-border culture – the list of benefits goes on and on.

And why are several countries - Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and Iceland - among them, eagerly hoping for invitations to join the European tango?

The fuss and heat engendered by the Lisbon Treaty has largely overshadowed one simple fact: it is no more than another transitional stage in the continuing maturity of the European Union. Besides, as Gavin Hewitt, BBC, notes in his Europe blog: "In reality there are no plans for another big treaty like Lisbon… there is no appetite for further major changes."

If dancing partners Klaus and Cameron have their way, and waltz off together into an uncertain night, we shall have to wave goodbye from the European balcony; and we shall be left staring at a black hole in the middle of Europe and an island state drifting into the west Atlantic.

That would be a sad day for us all.