From East to West

In a week marked by symbolic events in European politics, on 14 July, Poland's former prime minister, Jerzy Buzek, became the first ever President of the European Parliament from an ex-Soviet bloc country. As Gazeta Wyborcza delightedly reported, his election symbolized "the realization of hopes and dreams that were born in the shipyards of Gdansk 30 years ago." At the same time, the Warsaw daily also warned that "Old member states will consider his performance to be a gauge of the European competence of new members — and the extent of common purpose within the Union."

Two days later, two former presidents of Poland — Lech Walesa and Aleksander Kwasniewski — along with a former president of the Czech Republic — Václav Havel — and other public figures in the region published an open letter to Barack Obama, which in substance sought to obtain more US protection from Russia and overrule objections to a proposal for US missile defence installations on their territory — a plan that was decided without consultation with the EU. It's as if the authors of the letter, many of whom symbolized their countries' transition to democracy and accession to the European Union, feel that Brussels and other capitals in the West of the continent do not share their concerns.

Old Europe, New Europe, the distinction as formulated by the former US defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, still prevails. We would like to believe that the appointment of a Polish politician to a key postion in the EU should not give rise to any questions about his European credentials. We would also like to think that EU governments share a vision of the world and its challenges sufficiently coherent not to convey the impression that America is the only power capable of action.

Now that Javier Solana, who has led the drive to establish European diplomacy, has announced his retirement, can we hope that his replacement will be able to speak for all the states of the EU — both Eastern and Western?