U.K. threat to EU ruffles award as leaders criticize disunity
By Bloomberg
The specter of European Union disintegration featured at one of Europe’s most prestigious award ceremonies as participants warned of the risks posed by EU bashing and a U.K. referendum on membership in the bloc.
In a speech on Thursday marking the city of Aachen’s award of the Charlemagne Prize to EU Parliament President Martin Schulz, German President Joachim Gauck said EU unity risks disarray after Prime Minister David Cameron’s re-election and strains linked to the euro.
“In some member states, the readiness to continue signing up to a common future is dwindling,” said Gauck. “Standing alone to be thrown back to rely only on the nation state has lost its terror.”
After his re-election last week, Cameron reaffirmed his pledge to hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the U.K. to stay in the bloc, she has said she won’t support Cameron’s demands to repatriate powers over freedom of movement. Her Social Democrat allies openly rooted for Cameron’s ouster in the May 7 election, citing the EU referendum risk.
The Charlemagne Prize is a showcase of EU integration. Past winners include former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was awarded the prize in 1999 a year after the U.K. signed the EU’s Human Rights Charter.
This year’s winner, Schulz, a German Social Democrat, said that some EU leaders are deliberately fanning disunity in the bloc, without naming them. Those leaders have taken to EU bashing as their countries’ global influence wanes, he said.
“Stop trying to shove the blame for all Europe’s unsolved problems on Brussels,” Schulz said. “I can understand that it isn’t easy for a nation to admit it’s not possible to play in the top league in a globalized world.”