Future of the European Union. A group of analysts debate the pro and it euroskeptic positions. The potential for european cultural integration, and the prospects for the uks withdrawal from the eu. The twohour event was hosted by the hudson institute. Mr. Fonte what is the future of the European Union . Thats what well be talking about today. What does is it mean to say the European Union has a democracy deficit . Are they compatible with democratic selfgovernance . Will britain leave the eu in june . If so, what does this mean for the european project . Will germany pull back from the jury of the European Political Union . Will the cultural and political challenges of radical islam both within europe and abroad, strengthen or weaken the eu . sat effect is Vladimir Putin russia have an effect of the eu. . . What does the future of the eu mean for the United States and the Transatlantic Alliance . We will be trying to answer some of these questions this morning. E have an outstanding panel i am particularly interested in the democracy question. The European Union represents a new form of governance beyond the nationstate in general and beyond the democratic nationstate in particular. So, before we get started i will quote three european leaders from the left, right, and center who in the very early days, right after world war ii were concerned before Charles De Gaulle and Margaret Thatcher voiced their reservations these three were concerned about the future of democracy in an integrated europe. From the left in opposition to the creation of the poland steel community, Clement Atlee declared that britain, quote, would not accept the most vital Economic Forces in our country should be handed over to an authority that is utterly undemocratic and responsible to nobody. From the right and at the same time in france, the leader of the National Assembly opposed, quote, delegating our powers to a stateless and uncontrolled autocracy of experts. In 1957, in opposition to the founding documents to the forerunner of the European Union, the former french premier stated, quote, a democrat may abdicate by giving in to internal dictatorship, but also by delegating his powers to an external authority. That was in opposition to the treaty of rome. Now, our first speaker is the director of International Outreach at the Acton Institute for the study of religion and liberty in grand rapids, michigan. He is the author of a new book. The book is entitled the new totalitarian temptation Global Governance and the crisis of democracy in europe. Is published by encounter books. I courage everyone to get a count a copy. In my view it is the best book written to date on the European Union. He was the political counselor at the u. S. Mission in brussels, the European Union, is deputy chief in luxembourg, and in munich, hamburg, frankfurt, dublin, costa rica and mexico. He served on the state department in washington d. C. He knows the European Union as few scholars and statement do. Mr. Huizinga thank you, john. Thank you everyone for coming. I appreciate your interest. Things do not look too good in europe. Before the summer is out, britain might decide to leave the eu. Greeces de facto little more than a protector of the International Monetary fund, and European Central bank. Schengen is in danger of being abolished. Devastating terrorist attacks have occurred regularly in europe since the 2004 train bombings. And as brussels and paris show us, the threat of Jihadist Terrorism remains palpable throughout europe. How did this come about . In my book i contend the European Unions commitment to paneuropean governments, overriding powers of Member States is eroding democracy in europe, threatening human rights, and putting the eu, in principle, on a collision course with the United States. There are fi major arguments in the book. The first, the eu is transforming europe from democratically accountable nation states into a post democratic order in they have little say in how they are governed. Second, the eurozone crisis, the migrant crisis, increases the risk of terrorism in europe and is connected with the eu pursuit of a globalist supranational dream. Third, because of different views on National Sovereignty and democratic accountability, the United States and European Union are, in principle, on a collision course. Fourth, the fact that europe is largely postchristian, while the u. S. Government is based on a Judeo Christian worldview, accounts for a radical difference between american and european views in the role of government. Fifth, many of the human rights promoted by the eu are harmful to human rights because they contradict tradition human nature, and the fact that human beings are not only individuals, but also embedded in religion, family, and community. I would like to concentrate on two things for a basis for discussion. First, an overview on what makes the eu tick and comment on how it ticks. Second, the clash of visions between the United States and the eu. First, an overview of the eu. What is the eu in essence . That is the question. It is very hard to say what the eu is. Anyone who attempts is taking a big risk. So, i guess i am taking a big risk. There are so many different goals, interests, languages, and people that coexist within the eu. Also, the eu is unprecedented. Nothing like it has ever existed. Certainly, the European Union is unlike any other International Arrangement or organization that otherwise exists. For example, some people think of the eu as a free trade or customs union, but it is more than the u. S. And mexico under nafta. Neither is the eu like any other International Organization that at first glance might seem comparable. Take the oas. Both the eu and oas are regional organizations. And just as the oas is panamerican including all of the states in the western hemisphere, so is the eu close to being paneuropean. But there, the similarities end. The 28 Member States with their constant coordination on policy issues and powerful institutions in brussels and luxembourg are much more integrated than the oas or any other International Organization. So, the eu is more than an International Organization. But neither is the eu like a federal state. The eu is not a United States of europe. The Member States exist as independent nations. So, what is the eu . When all is said and done, my belief is what it comes down to is that the eu is a supranationalist project. The eu Member States are pooling , and thus relinquishing elements of their sovereignty. They are succeeding large amounts of their governing and lawmaking powers to the supranational institutions of the eu that are distinct from the eu Member States and function independently above the National Level. The essence of the european project, not just the nuts and bolts of how the eu works, but the hope behind the european dream, the heart, soul, and mind of the eu is precisely this Super Nationalism. The process of integration arose out of the ashes of world war ii and the determination of european leaders that war should never arise from european soil. By on conflicts between european states, especially france and germany, should never happen again. This was a noble vision. All, it was an understandable vision, given the devastation brought by world war ii and shortly before that, world war i. Despite the problems, it is a powerful vision today. The vision of a harmonious and peaceful europe united with french, germans, and spaniards and everyone else all working together for a better europe and a better world. But the European Union is not only about europe. The vision of the eu, the supranationalist approach, is a model for a new way to order the world. The Super Nationalism is a new governance, putting the Super National governance into practice on a global scale in order to realize world peace by overcoming the unlimited sovereignty of nations, which the eu believes is the root of war. And here is a model for Global Governance, the eu has real credibility. After all, the eu is the only functioning model of how a Global Governance might work. So, what is Global Governance . Most definitions that you will easily find are very technocratic. They do not get to the heart of the matter. Here is how i would define Global Governance. Local governance is the attempt to introduce a global rule of law in the interest of achieving an unprecedented degree of world peace and prosperity not via one world government, but by the development of a network of International Institutions that administer an ever greater body of International Law, to which nation states are subject. That binds nation states in their foreignpolicy and substantial areas of domestic policy. The key to Global Governance is development of a global rule of law. No one knows exactly with the global rule of law will look like in the end, if an end is even meant to be achieved. The key thing about the the eu is process, constant process, constant becoming. Never, necessarily, ending. Back to the european level for a moment, how does the eu attempt to build a supranational democracy . How does it actually work . As you know, it works primarily via powerful centralizing institutions over and above the member state governments and distinct from member state governments. I would like to sumarize the characteristics most important institutions. First, the European Commission. This is the eus executive arm that enforces regulations throughout the eu. But it has an important legislative function. With rare exceptions, it is the only institution in the eu with the power to proposed eu legislation, called the right of initiative. It means two things. That eu legislation starts with unelected technocrats working in the European Commission, and that the eu executive arm has perhaps the most important legislative power, thus violating the separation of powers that damages democratic accountability. The Second Institution id like to talk about, the council of ministers. It is an institution in which representatives of member state governments Work Together to coordinate almost all policies in their domains. The Council Ministers is the single entity, but meets in 10 different formations depending on the policy area. Theres the Foreign Affairs council, the environment council, the economic and financial counsel, etc. So, another typical thing about the eu that muddies the waters, it is one institution that has 10 basically completey separate formations. Another important thing about the council is the council of ministers is a both hands institution. The members of the council both represent their governments but they also act as members of the supranational Eu Institution that is distinct from their governments into which they belong in a closer way than they would in any other International Organization. So, this brings a lot of lack of clarity to the council of ministers. Its a lack of clarity is typical of the eu we have the European Parliament. It is not really a parliament. It does not do things most National Parliaments do. It doesnt have the power to levy taxes, for example. It is not draft legislation. The European Commission does. But the legislation is drafted by the commission. I note here that the European Parliament and the council of ministers can both amend legislation as drafted by the administration, they cannot amend it. Here is another twist that many people forget about the European Parliament that renders it on parliamentary in the traditional sense, there is no Majority Party or coalition in the European Parliament representing the government party, and there is no Minority Party or coalition representing the opposition as in other parliaments, because there is no government and the eu and no opposition. Rather, everyone governs together in a hybrid system of supranational governance. A final example from my experience in the state department, although Foreign Policy is supposedly, according to the eu treaties, a domain of the Member States and not the eu, the eu has become a huge foreignpolicy player. The ministers meet monthly to coordinate policies as closely as possible in the Foreign Affairs council. Second, the eu has created its own de facto foreign minister with the title the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and security policies. She chairs the monthly Foreign Affairs ministers meetings and sets the agenda for those meetings. She travels extensively as their representative of the eu. She was john kerrys principal european partner, for example, in the negotiation with iran. Serving the high representative, the eu has also created its own de facto foreign minister, the european external action service. I would say from my personal experience, the eu is an important foreignpolicy partner for the u. S. As germany, france, or Great Britain. Certainly, in terms of daytoday interaction of highlevel u. S. Diplomats, more important than the midsized or smaller eu Member States. This is an amazing thing. One of the u. S. s most important partners is something that is not a country with a government that is not a government, a foreign minister who is not a foreign minister, a diplomatic corps that is not a diplomatic corps, with all of these elements making and implementing Foreign Policy on behalf of an organization that no one has ever been able to define in a way that everyone can agree on. So, that is my overview of the eu. The eu is different from anything that has ever existed before in the world. What is at the root of all of this . How did this strange new thing called the eu come about . That brings us to the second topic, the transatlantic clash of visions between the u. S. And eu. This is a complex topic, of course, but americans must understand that the eu and u. S. Have different versions of the world. The u. S. Vision of the world is that of a world with sovereign nations. The u. S. Hopes to achieve a more peaceful and prosperous world by promoting democracy and the rule of law so the world system is distinguished by democratically accountable governments of nation states, accountable to their citizens that cooperate peacefully with each other. The eus vision is of a postnationstate world in which war and conflicts between nation states are overcome because the full sovereignty of nation state is relinquished to Global Governance based on a web of International Organizations and a body of International Law. So, even though the western and Central European countries remained the United States most important allies, and i want to emphasize that, your remains our most important ally, this , this clash of vision puts the eu and u. S. On a collision course in principle if not always in practice. But one thing, antiamericanism is an inevitable outgrowth of the european idea, if one thinks logically. As the worlds most powerful nation state and one that jealously guards its sovereignty, it is the big gorilla in the way of the vision to the eus vision of the world that has evolved beyond the natio