Students Ponder Future of EU

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which sowed the seeds for the current 27-member European Union, German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth invited Washington-area college students to present their vision of the EU for the next 50 years before an audience of EU ambassadors at the German Residence on March 25.

“The perspective of these students from this side of the Atlantic is a critical one,” said Scharioth. “Support from the United States has been essential to the project of European integration from the beginning.

“Fifty years ago, particularly wise leaders on both sides of the Atlantic had a farsighted vision for the future,” he told his audience of EU diplomatic colleagues and U.S. students. “American leaders like [Harry] Truman, [George] Marshall, [John] McCloy and [George] Kennan helped Europe get back on its feet, not only through massive material support but also through a political commitment to support the European will to integrate.”

John Bruton, the EU ambassador and former prime minister of Ireland, opened the discussion by saying that EU enlargement is a “great success story of peaceful change” but “is still a work in progress.” He called the EU a “political project” that evens the playing field among smaller countries and their bigger, more powerful neighbors. “Joining the EU transformed [Ireland's] relationship and Britain … and that is happening all over Europe.”

When questioned about the chances of Turkey eventually becoming a member, Bruton said he feels the EU needs time to “digest” its current new, larger membership. “We have grown very fast,” he said. “We are like a family and [with each new country], our enlargement is like a marriage and [that means] taking in more in-laws.”

Both ambassadors noted future EU challenges to be terrorism, violent fanaticism, poverty, disease, energy and climate change.

Students' presentations ranged from environmental concerns to comments about the merger between Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange. American University law student Tony Sciascia called for “mutual recognition of product standards” and said that European concerns over America's “genetically modified food” can be solved by better labeling.

Molly France, a first-year Catholic University student, suggested an independent public affairs television station modeled after C-SPAN. U.S. Naval Academy senior Arthur Zepf, meanwhile, talked about the need for an EU cooperative military force, which he said is necessary for the 27-member body to “acquire a leading role in the world.”

The 44 students came from six area universities and worked in teams. All were delighted when they discovered, along with German-EU souvenirs in their goody bags, a $100 check from the German Embassy for their participation.

Front page, German Ambassador Klaus Schiaroth, left, and Ambassador of the European Union John Bruton gathered together the ambassadors and deputy chiefs of mission of all 27 EU member countries at the German Residence to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Rome Treaty.