While the increasingly bitter and bizarre wangling over Europe’s budget was going on, a sharp division emerged between the old and new Europes.
In an attempt to reach a deal, the first budget cut was that was proposed involved slashing the research budget from 4.8 to 4.2 billion euros – which seems an odd way of making Europe the worlds most dynamic and competitive economy, which the European Union is committed to doing by 2010.
The irony was not lost on UK foreign minister Jack Straw, who suggested that rather than spending 40% of the European Union budget on agriculture, we should look forwards instead of back.
While images of rustic peasants toiling under a Provencal sun (safe in the knowledge that whatever they produce will be bought by Brussels at up to three times the global market price) may look fine in tourist brochures, it hardly helps Europe move forward.
In fact, the arm of the commission devoted to research is one of the most successful parts of Europe’s sprawling bureaucracy, and rather than imposing rules or dogma on European scientists, has simply helped fund what scientists have been doing for years, cooperating with no regard for national borders.
To slash funding in this area is not only short sighted, but runs contrary to the spirit of the “European project” espoused by old Europe.