European summits were formalized in 1974. Then the European Council of Heads of State and Government was inaugurated, which would meet annually and become the continent’s decisive institution.
The idea was put forward by the leaders of the “Franco-German locomotive”: French President Valéry Giscard and German annuller Helmut Schmidt. Both had been Ministers of the Economy, were federalists and spoke English. Something that has been lost over time: neither Helmut Kohl, nor Angela Merkel, nor François Mitterrand, nor Jacques Chirac dominated it.
The European Communities were a mini club of new members, which facilitated proximity, cultivated in informal relationships. by the fire, next to the fireplace. The formal sessions brought together an array of ambassadors, assistants, high-ranking members of the Commission and the Council, and interpreters. Yes them ancientso named by Paolo Antici, the first diplomat to take note of what was said and never recorded. In a restricted session, an ambassador crouches under the table, whispering to his prime minister in tongues the translation of the speeches, and deciphering their technical hieroglyphs.
Since then, with 27 Member States, the intensity and frequency have evolved in favor of efficiency. The sessions bring together only 27 representatives, as well as the presidencies of the European Council and the Commission, the high representative and the secretary of the Council. Everyone speaks English, anyone who doesn’t is lost. Great paradox, because the country which formalized this language, the United Kingdom, fled the club. Van with money, comfortable, without just testicles. I only use interpreters in very technical debates, and/or to justify the outcome.
There are a lot of French Emmanuel Macrons. Aunque highlights in English. He is the most brilliant speaker. It is also an effective expression of Friedrich Merz’s canciller, also in English diesel. Yes, they were both investment bankers and mayors. Merz is sober, which everyone is grateful for.
His predecessor, Olaf Scholz, started rolls of up to 40 minutes of monotones, but he didn’t dare interrupt. Another one that attracts attention is that of the Spaniard Pedro Sánchez, in particular – he gives his comments to journalists – because he intervenes in all the key themes and because he constitutes the most significant social democratic counterpoint. And of course, it represents one of the largest countries, in terms of size, economy and geostrategic importance.
Behind them and the Pole Donald Tusk, with more numb English but a lot of humanity, the Italian ex-fascist Giorgia Meloni rises to the rank of protagonist, now focused on pragmatism. Capture in flight the lines of flight, convergence and fissures, if you face them and, in an ambiguous or determined way, you take advantage of them, as if you were doing it with the brain, to achieve your ends. On this forum, yes, do not display ideology.
So, but without a chimney, every quarter.
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