INTERNATIONAL

VOL. 58

WINTER

AFFAIRS
1981/82

No. 1

EUROPEANPOLITICALCO-OPERATION:
AMERICASHOULDWELCOMEIT

Lord Carrington

N a speechinLondon
just30 yearsago,General
Eisenhower,
thenAllied

Commander
in Europe,calledforunityamongtheEuropeannations.'It
in theseyears
wouldbe difficult
indeed',he said,'to overstate
thebenefits,
ofstressandtension,
thatwouldaccruetoNATO ifthefreenationsofEurope
weretrulya unit.'
This Community
of Ten nowadaysprovidesincreasingly
the contextin
which Britainframesits domesticand its foreignpolicies.Since Britain
currentlyoccupies the Presidencyof the Community,
it is particularly
fortheBritishForeignSecretary
appropriate
todiscussEurope'sforeign
policy:
how it has developedup to now,how it maygrowin thefutureand how I
believeitcancontribute
totheoverallstrength
oftheWesternworld.
I shouldmake it clear at the outsetthatBritain'smembership
of the
EuropeanCommunity
doesnotconflict
withbutcontributes
to a newchapter
in our historicfriendship
and partnership
withtheUnitedStates.Ours is a
triedandtestedfriendship
a
basedon a sharedhistory
anda commonheritage,
friendship
which,in GeneralEisenhower'swords,'was neverrecordedon
legalparchment
butin theheartsofourtwopeoples'.The affection
shownby
so manyAmericansforthePrinceand PrincessofWalesat thetimeoftheir
showsthatthesebondsofsentiment
wedding
andfriendship
remainstrong.
But themostimportant
elementin thegreatAnglo-American
friendship
is
oursharedbelief
in democracy,
individual
andtheruleoflaw.Theseare
liberty
the principles
on whichthe EuropeanCommunity
precisely
rests.Britain's
activemembership
often nations,shortlywe hopeto be
of theCommunity
joinedby two newlydemocratic
states,Spain and Portugal,will strengthen
rather
thandiluteourtieswiththeUnitedStates.
It tooktheFirstWorldWar to putan end to theperiodwhentheUnited
States had triedto stand aloof fromEurope and, even then, American
in Europeanaffairs
involvement
wasreluctant
andnotentirely
happyforeither
side. Some EuropeanleadersfoundPresidentWilson's high-minded
style
The FrenchleaderClemenceaugrumbled:
'Mr Wilsonboresme
oppressive.
withhisfourteen
points.The LordGod has onlyten.' Then as thepeacetalks
dragged
on,Clemenceauasked:'How can I talktoa fellowwhothinkshimself
thefirst
manin twothousandyearsto knowanything
aboutpeaceon earth?'
'This articleis basedcloselyon LordCarrington's
inNew Yorkon
speechtotheForeignPolicyAssociation
September
23, 1981.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Butinanycasethisfirst
AmericandipintoEuropeanwaterswassoonfollowed
byanother
periodofdeliberate
isolation.
The Second WorldWar and its aftermath
changedall that,this time
permanently.
America'smilitary
intervention
madeit possibleto restorethe
freedom
ofWestern
Europeandat thetimeeveryEuropeanknewthatthiswas
so. In the firstyearsof peace, the MarshallPlan was one of the most
imaginative
and successful
expressions
ofgenerosity
and self-interest
thatthe
worldhaseverknown.Americarealisedthatisolation
wasno longeran option.
FromthatdaytheUnitedStateshashadtohavea globalforeign
policy.
De Toccuevillewastalking
as individuals
whenhe saidthat'If
ofAmericans
an Americanweretoconfine
he wouldbe robbed
hisactivity
to hisownaffairs
ofhalfofhisexistence'.But hisremarkhas becomeequallytrueofAmerica's
foreign
policy,tothegreatbenefit
ofEuropeandtheworld.
Americanforeignpolicyhas been basedon close identification
withthe
peoplesandobjectives
oftheWesterndemocracies.
The foreign
policiesofthe
EuropeansandofAmericaaredesigned
ourcommonwayoflife.Our
to defend
aimsand theirsare identicalin thisrespectand are symbolised
bytheNorth
AtlanticTreaty,whichestablished
the alliancewhichhas keptthepeace in
Europeforoverthreedecades.
IftheUnitedStateswaitedfornearlytwocenturies
before
adopting
an active
foreignpolicy,it is smallwonderthatthe EuropeanCommunity
took two
decades,fromitsfirst
stepstowardseconomicunity,beforeembarking
on the
difficult
watersof foreignpolicyco-ordination.
Europeanproblemswere of
course verydifferent
fromthose of the youngUnitedStates.No-one in
WesternEuropehad everthought
ofisolationas a possibility.
The individual
statesof Europeeach had a long tradition
of activeforeignpolicy.It had
expressed
itselfin a shifting
pattern
ofalliances.It hadbeenreflected
in bitter
rivalryin everycornerof the world-evenincluding,
once upon a time,in
NorthAmerica!
These woundsof coursehave longbeen healed.To proveit once again,
Britainmade themagnanimous
gestureof sendinga CabinetMinister-the
LordChancellor-torepresent
us at theanniversary
celebrations
lastOctober
oftheBattleofYorktown.
The Britishweredefeated
in 1781 byan unholyallianceoftheAmericans
and theFrench.As theBritishsoldierswithdrew
fromYorktownwiththeir
regimentalband playing-so it is said-'The World turned upside
down'-theywerenotto knowthattwohundredyearslaterthosesamethree
nationswouldbe joinednotin battlebut,withothers,in a powerful
allianceto
preservepeaceand freedom.
Nor weretheyto knowthatthebankruptcy
of
individual
foreign
policiesin Europewouldbe demonstrated
bytheshattering
oftwoworldwars,whichleftourcontinent
experience
weak,impoverished
and
dividedby that tragicriftwhich WinstonChurchillchristenedthe Iron
Curtain.
Yet it was one thingto see, in the late 1940s, thatthe old systemwas

EUROPEAN POLITICAL CO-OPERATION

It was anotherto moveforward

bankrupt.
to a betterone, and it is no mean
in the
on the partofEuropethat,whenI spokein September
achievement
I wasableto do so in thenamenotonlyof
UnitedNationsGeneralAssembly,
The speech,in
Britainalonebutofthemembers
oftheEuropeanCommunity.
butI thinkit madegoodsenseand was
itself,
maynothavebeenremarkable,
receivedas a balancedand coherentapproachto the problemsof the world
today.
The Community
is a groupof freeand democratic
statescommitted
to
commoneconomicrulesand
an evengreater
pursuing
degreeofunitythrough
held
policies.We do notpretendthatthiswillbe easy.Reconciling
strongly
nationalinterestsnever is; nor is sharingour scarce resources,as the
on thisside of the
occasionalquarrelbetweenfederaland stateauthorities
Atlanticshows.I therefore
fearthatyou willcontinueto hearof squabbles
andthelike.
aboutmoney,fish,sheepmeat,
turkeys
ButthisdoesnotmeanthattheCommunity
is falling
apart.Farfromit:itis
a signthattheCommunity
is in business,facingandnotduckingtheissues.I
believeitcan andwillemergestrengthened
as a resultofthenegotiations
now
in progress,
andthatitcanandwillcontinuetopromote
theeconomicstrength
of its members.And I am quiteclearthatit is in Westerninterests
thatit
should.
As fortheco-operation
oftheTen in foreign
policy,whiletheCommunity,
as a customsunion,hadfromthebeginning
toadoptcommonexternal
policies
in manyareasoftradeandeconomicrelations,
therewasno treaty
obligation
to
consulton foreign
policyas such.It was someyearsbeforetheinteraction
of
externaleconomicpolicyand foreignpolicyproperled the membersto
establishthesystemwhichbearsthe somewhatcolourlesstitleofEuropean
Overtheyearstherealisation
has grownthateconomic
politicalco-operation.
policyand foreign
policyare Siamesetwins.In politics,as in economics,the
countriesthat make up WesternEurope are too small todayto operate
on theirown. They have to finda unifiedresponseto modern
successfully
iftheyaretocontroltheirowndestinies.
problems
The political
sidehasin factmovedfaster
in recentyearsthantheeconomic,
in the
catchingup, youmightsay,withtheeconomicintegration
registered
earlyperiod.But it wouldbe quitewrongto supposethattheCommunity's
economicproblems
can be compensated
forbymeansofa moreactiveforeign
ifthe Community
is to realiseits
policy.Progressis neededon bothfronts
potential.
What,then,has beenachievedin our politicalco-operation?
Let me take
threeexamples.
Firstis thatcomplexprocessknownas theConference
on Security
andCoin Europe(CSCE forshort).Throughoutthe yearsofdetailedand
operation
in Helsinkiin theearly
fromthepreparatory
conference
exacting
negotiations,
1970s rightthroughto thereviewmeetings
stillwaitingto be concludedin
have managedto act closelyin
Madrid,the membersof the Community

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

unison.Not everyone
is awarehow greatly
thishas strengthened
theoverall
Westernposition,and how it contributed
in particular
to the humanitarian
sectionsoftheHelsinkifinalact. At timesit has even beentheTen, rather
thanthefifteen
members
ofNATO, whohavegivena lead.
A secondand morecontroversial
area ofEuropeanactivity
is theMiddle
East. Criticsof the Europeanefforts
in thisfieldsometimesforgetthatthe
VeniceDeclarationofJune1980 was issuedat a timewhentheCampDavid
processwas forvariousreasonsin thedoldrumsand likelyto remainso for
sometime.In theconsequent
political
vacuum,frustration
was growing.
Even
themostmoderate
Arableadersweredemanding
to knowwhattheWestas a
wholewas doingto promotethegenerally
acceptedgoal ofa justand lasting
settlement.
The UnitedStates,forunderstandable
reasons,was unableat the
timetogivea satisfactory
answeratVenice.The EuropeanCommunity,
whose
economicinterests
areevenmoredirectly
involved
in theregionthanarethose
oftheUnitedStates,suggested
We believethey
someprinciples
forprogress.
arebalancedandrealistic.
Theyincluded,ofcourse,Israel'ssecurity,
butthey
fromthatof
also coveredthePalestinianproblemwithan emphasisdifferent
CampDavid.
At VenicetheTen drewattention
to therightofthePalestinian
peopleto
determinetheirown futureand suggestedthat the PalestineLiberation
Organisation
mustbe associatedwithanypeaceefforts.
We believed,
then,and
are evenmoreconvincedtoday,thata properappreciation
ofthePalestinian
andifthehistoric
aspectis essentialifa lastingsolutionis to be found,
progress
is to be extended
initiated
at CampDavidon theEgypt-Israel
front
to theWest
Bank. We didnotsee then,and we do notsee now,thatthetwobalancing
principles
on whichthe Europeanapproachis based-securityforIsraeland
as anything
forthePalestinians-canbe regarded
butevenself-determination
handedandirrefutable.
It willsoonbe twoyearssince
My thirdexampleis a morerecentinitiative.
of
theSovietUnioninvadedAfghanistan,
exposingtotheworldthehollowness
We mustnot let
Sovietclaimsto championpeace and self-determination.
on
Afghanistan
become,likeEthiopiain the 1930s, thevictimofaggression
andindifference
on thepartoftherest.We must
thepartofone government
notonlyso thatAfghanistan
continue
toworkhardfora Sovietwithdrawal,
may
affected
butso thatothercountries
regainitsindependence,
directly
bytheinofwar.
vasionknowthatworldopinionis behindthemas theyfacethepressure
The UN GeneralAssemblyhas passedstrongresolutions
byoverwhelming
Thereis a
areunfortunately
notself-executing.
butsuchresolutions
majorities,
to
forthe
needforactiveand imaginative
diplomacy, pin the responsibility
whereit belongs,in Moscow,and to createtheframework
presentsituations
fora politicalsolutionagainstthe day whensuch a thingmay be possible.
in Juneby the Ten
These werethe reasonsforthe proposalsput forward
which roughlyseventy
membersof the EuropeanCommunity-proposals
havesincesupported.
countries

EUROPEAN POLITICAL CO-OPERATION

In the yearsahead, I expectEuropeanpoliticalco-operation

to develop
Therewillbe-no granddesign,no abolitionofnationalforeign
pragmatically.
policies,no Euro-foreign
office,
no one ForeignMinisterto thepowerofTen,
but my nine colleaguesand I will meetmoreoften,agreemoreoften,act
togethermore often.We shall extendthe rangeof subjectson whichwe
concert.
We shalllaunchmoreinitiatives,
andmoreofthemwillbringresults.
Our co-operation
in theTen willnotreplaceor competewithothergroups
in whichmostofthemembers
oftheCommunity
areco-operating
withother
states:inparticular
theroleofNATO willnotbe impaired.
Butwe in theTen,
soon to be twelve,willbecomemoreand morewhaton our bestdayswe are
already:an economicand politicalgroupingof substantialweightand
consequence
inthegreateventsoftheworld.
The influence
whichtheTen or twelvecan have,in a worlddominated
by
and super weapons, will be limitedand should not be
super-powers
We cannothopeto settheworldto rightsor wavea wandover
exaggerated.
ancientinternational
problemsto producean instantsolution.Like other
ofthediplomatic
practitioners
art,we shallneedpatienceand perseverance,
and a willingness
to toleratesecond-best
solutionswhen the best is not
attainable.
I return
tomystarting-point.
Willthisdevelopment
ofEuropeanpolitical
cobeinAmerica'sinterests?
operation
It shouldbe fruitful,
notharmful,
forEuropeto operatein parallelto the
andcommercial
tieswithareasoftheworld
UnitedStates.Europehaspolitical
In Africa,forexample,thereareleaders
withwhichAmericais less familiar.
whoareusedto dealingwiththeEuropeansandwhofeelat ease withus. The
linksthatare beingbuiltup betweentheTen and theAssociationofSouthsimilarin another
East Nations(ASEAN) mayin timeproducesomething
itmaybe easierforEuropeto develop
regionoftheworld.Forsomesituations
a basisofcommoninterest
thanit is forAmericaas a superpower.
European
in itsinternational
can givethewesta greater
and diversity
activity
flexibility
wouldbe to
efforts.
Not to deploythisflexibility
withenergyandimagination
wasteouropportunities.
I see anotheradvantageto Americaandto NATO. Withoutthegrowthof
someEuropeansmightcometo feelthatonly
Europeanpoliticalco-operation,
This couldfeed
thesuperpowers
can playa roleon theworldstagenowadays.
evenfatalism,
whichsomehavedetectedin theold
themoodofresignation,
continent.Europeanpoliticalco-operation,
by involvingall of the Ten in
activitiesdirectedto the worldas a whole,can enhanceboth a sense of
anda senseofinvolvement.
responsibility
ifhe couldreadtodaythe
GeneralEisenhower
mightbe a littledisappointed
articlesin the mediaon bothsidesof the Atlanticaboutpolicydifferences
betweenour governments
or about divergenttrendsin public opinion.
AmericaandEuropeinevitably
havea difference
ofperspectives.
ofa war
Europeans,
livingnextdoortotheWarsawPactandwithmemories

INTERNATIONALAFFAIRS

fought
in theirownfarmsand cities,inevitably
haveparticular
apprehensions
about the possibilityof nuclear war in Europe. It is of course
I would say admirable-thatthe United States,
understandable-indeed,
bearingthe mainbruntof Westernsecurity,
shouldattachfirstpriority
to
strengthening
theirdefencesin the faceof the unremitting
Sovietmilitary
build-up.I hopeAmericanswillfindit no lessunderstandable
thatEuropeans
shouldattacha veryhighpriority
toarmscontrolnegotiations
whichwillmake
a real contribution
to Westernsecurity.These two objectivesare entirely
complementary.
It is essentialforNATO to adopt-and be seen by public
opinioninmember
countries
to be adopting-aseriousandthorough
approach
to armscontrolnegotiations.
Equally,we shouldnotnegotiate
froma position
ifwe do
ofweakness.Indeed,thereis littleprospect
ofsuccessin negotiations
so. I trustthaton bothsidesoftheAtlanticit willbe widelyacceptedthata
parallelapproachon theselinesis thesensiblewayforward.
The only way to deal with such differences
is the traditional
way of
consultation.I am glad that this is being given such high priorityin
Washington
We shouldbe careful
nowadays.
nottoexaggerate
ourdifferences,
leastofall in public.We shouldnotforget
thecloseidentity
ofinterests
andof
idealswhichlinktheUnitedStatestoBritainandto theEuropeanCommunity
as a whole.Butwe shouldnotlookfora totaluniformity
ofviewwhich,thank
God,canneverexiston thissideoftheIronCurtain.
The UnitedStatesSecretaryof State,AlexanderHaig, remindedus in
BerlinlastautumnthatWesternsocietyis basedon democracy
andpluralism.
Therearewaysin whichthiscan seemto makeus weakerthanthemonolithic
itbeingvoted.We cannotpasslaws
regions.We cannotspendmoneywithout
We cannottakedecisionswithoutregard
ourparliaments.
without
consulting
toourpublicopinion.We cannotevencometopowerwithout
beingelected.
Butin reality
thispluralism
is ourstrength.
It givesus flexibility,
creativity,
topolicy,is
variety,
imagination,
vigour.An allianceofequals,all contributing
infinitely
stronger
thananysystemon thesolarmodel.The policiesofWestern
havegreaterweightprecisely
becausetheymustcommandthe
governments
ofpublicopinion.
support
In the1980s we mustexploitthesestrengths.
The fundamental
objectives
and beliefsof Europe and Americawill remainthe same. We can afford
over methods.There is a role forthe EuropeanTen, a role for
diversity
ofindustrialised
democracies.
Whenthere
NATO, a roleforthewiderfamily
are differences
withinandamongthesegroups,we mustconsult.Whenthere
seemto be no differences,
we mustconsultjustthesameotherwise
differences
willdevelop.Thereis strength
in diversity,
andalsoin unity.WhatI havebeen
suggestingis diversitywithoutdisputein our methods,unitywithout
inouraimsandourideals.
inourpolicies,andidentity
uniformity