Where is the grand EU vision?
Do you know how there are certain things that people say that stick with you? For me, one of those was when I was taking a short course on the EU at Aarhus Business School in the late nineties. Our lecturer invited a retired EU interpreter to talk to us and his telling of the arrival of the British to the table is one I have yet to forget.
He was talking about Margaret Thatcher's first attendance at a European Commission meeting and told us that there were huge expectations from the other member states that now something momentous and positive would happen because the Brits were on board.
This was after the UK accession in 1973 and the UK referendum on membership in 1975 which gave overwhelming support to remaining in Europe and after which Roy Jenkins said
It puts the uncertainty behind us. It commits Britain to Europe; it commits us to playing an active, constructive and enthusiastic role in it.
But instead of leading with a powerful vision of what Europe could be, the special pleading continued, for refunds and exceptions, and has continued ever since.
I was left with the impression from the interpreter that the British never realised what was expected of them and have continued to disappoint ever since. The latest 'renegotiation' by David Cameron seems to be just another in a long line of special pleading, rather than being able to see a wider, grander vision that could benefit all EU members.
It seems odd to join a club and then expect the club to change its rules to suit you without giving much back.
But what hope for the British MEPs to be part of a grander vision when the majority of them are UKIP whose only position is to leave Europe? A few years ago I did a bit of lobbying for extended voting rights and this involved writing to 'my' UKIP MEP. He replied (thank you) but did not answer the question and ended by saying that he hoped he wouldn't have to respond to this type of correspondance in the future as he was standing in the national elections. This was hardly satisfying and seemed a betrayal of the public service function which an elected official should display.
If the UK referendum does deliver a YES, then the job is not done. We need everyone in the EU, including the Brits, to fix what's broken and to articulate a really inspiring vision that we can all sign up to.