Can the EU find its own Obama? (News Feature)

By Ben Nimmo Oct 27, 2009, 2:08 GMT

Luxembourg - What the European Union needs is a Barack Obama of its own.

That, at least, was the impression which some European Union foreign ministers gave as they gathered in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss how the bloc's hoped-for president could boost its influence with powers such as the United States, Russia, India and China.

'We need strong leaders (...) If we could find a Barack Obama of Europe it would be wonderful,' Finland's Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said as he arrived for talks with colleagues.

But debate still rages over the question of whether the EU should really be run by a superstar president, or whether its member states would be better served by a low-profile moderator.

'The EU is a superstar, so we need to have superstars representing us as well,' Lithuania's foreign minister, Vygaudas Usackas, said.

Rather, the president should 'concentrate on ensuring the continuity of (the EU's) works,' the Polish government wrote in a proposal on October 19 which analysts interpreted as an attempt to make sure that the president does not eclipse EU national leaders.

The problem lies in the Treaty of Lisbon, which the EU hopes to bring into force by the end of the year, if the Czech Constitutional Court and president approve it.

The treaty creates the post of president of the Council of EU member states, whose job it is to 'drive forward the work' of the council and 'ensure the external representation' of the EU.

The idea of creating such a post was to give the EU a higher profile and more consistent international representation. Currently, the bloc is led by each member state for six months at a time - a situation which has not led to great consistency.

'The six-month rotating presidency has really been the enemy of serious foreign policy' in key relations with major powers such as China, India, Russia and the US, Britain's David Miliband said.

Some EU ministers therefore say that the bloc needs a major international statesman who can negotiate on equal terms with leaders such as Barack Obama and Hu Jintao. Britain's former premier, Tony Blair, is the name most often mentioned in that context.

Blair would be a 'good choice,' Miliband said, while Usackas said that he would be a 'great candidate.' France's Bernard Kouchner also backed Blair for the post.

But diplomats say that other member states, especially the smaller ones, fear that a high-profile president would eclipse them and their six-month presidencies, which will be preserved under Lisbon.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have already written their own paper stressing that the president should always work in coordination with the rotating presidency and should 'listen to the member states and institutions.' 

Some analysts interpreted that as a demand for a lower-key president who will not overshadow national leaders.

'Some people want to have a strong EU president, others want weaker personalities,' Stubb said.

For the moment, at least, the question is academic: the EU's Swedish presidency has made it clear that it will not start formal talks on choosing a president until the Czech court says when it will rule on the current challenge.

Even when that answer comes, it is not yet clear whether the search will be for an EU Obama, or a lower-profile manager.

But if the bloc really does begin to look for its own superstar, the world had better watch out, because that might be the first sign that the EU is serious about muscling its way onto the world stage.

'The choice for Europe is simple: get our act together and make the EU a leader on the world stage; or become spectators in a G2 world shaped by the US and China,' Miliband said.