The entente fraternelle that London dares not enter

For French diplomacy, Nicolas Sarkozy’s State visit to London has been a success. The French president showed a political commitment towards the UK which was different from the formal attitude of his predecessors. He spoke of the necessity to build a new ‘entente fraternelle’ between the two countries. For his French audience, he also cited the economic reforms that have taken place in Britain since Margaret Thatcher as a ‘reference’ or ‘model’ for the reforms he is conducting at home.

One of the main objectives of Sarkozy’s visit to London was to invite the British government to do more with France within the European Union. ‘Europe needs the United Kingdom’, he said in front of the members of both chambers. This is another shift in position from that of his predecessors who were more inclined to make this kind of statement in front of the Bundestag.

For a French analyst of EU politics living in London, a question remains after the visit: could Sarkozy’s requests become reality or are they wishful thinking? The answer, I am afraid, remains largely in London. Could any British government really raise the country’s political commitment to the EU? For the moment, we get the impression that both Gordon Brown and David Cameron have little room for manoeuvre. Their main problem is not so much British public opinion, which is not so anti-European, but their own parties. Euroscepticism is more marked in the political establishment than in society.

The chances of the UK becoming more involved with France inside the EU depends on a case by case approach; London has never had a global or a holistic policy vis-à-vis the EU. If we return to Sarkozy’s proposals, there is no doubt that climate change or energy policy, two priorities of the forthcoming French presidency, could receive strong support in London; they are policies that are on the agendas of both Labour and the Conservatives.

Progress could also be made between Paris and London in the field of security and defence. Although he never mentioned this issue explicitly during his visit, Sarkozy is prepared to reintegrate all the military structures of NATO that De Gaulle left in 1966. This promise can only be viewed positively in London. There is, however, a counterpart to this proposal: to get from the US more operational autonomy for the Europeans inside NATO. This second element of the deal may be less welcome in London. Nevertheless, the US is prepared to move on this question.

Beyond these issues, what are the chances of a rapprochement between Paris and London on a crucial issue like migration? When Sarkozy said ‘it is essential to get a European Pact for migration’, what did he expect? Was he suggesting the UK joining the Schengen agreements? Was he expecting a progressive removal of the UK exemptions inside the Treaty of Lisbon? On these questions concerning the symbolism of national security, I am not sure that the Labour Party, or even less the Conservative Party, are prepared to go further.

In the same vein, when Sarkozy spoke about the necessity of saying ‘yes to globalisation and, at the same time, yes to a better protection of the workers’, what did he want? If it is more support from London in favour of a European social policy, I suspect that he has taken the wrong route.

For all these reasons, it is too optimistic to believe that the Franco-British relationship will form a new political leadership for the EU. On important issues like migration or monetary policy Paris will still do more with Germany, the Netherlands and Spain for the simple reason that those countries are members of the Euro zone and of the Schengen agreements.

Paris can only expect to build a new global leadership with London, as it did with Bonn/Berlin in the past, if the United Kingdom is prepared to renounce the many opt-outs it still maintains within the EU. But this kind of normalisation ‘à la danoise’ does not seem a priority for the majority of politicians inside the two main parties who remain convinced that UK is a specific country inside the EU.

This specificity, firmly embedded in the imagination of the British political class and the tabloids, is of course a myth. The reality is exactly the opposite: the structure and ethos of British society are in fact very European and could support more political involvement of their government within the EU.

Christian Lequesne is Professor at LSE and Sciences Po Paris.