Not Brexit but hegemony may threaten EU

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Europe

A German political scientist has warned that his country's hegemony is a threat to the European Union, but Brexit will strengthen the bloc as more and more states seek membership.

The EU will see more countries joining rather than any other leaving, Ludger Kühnhardt, German political science professor and director of the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), told CGTN while discussing the aftermath of the Brexit.

As the UK and the EU work for a Brexit deal, he noted "Brexit will strengthen European Integration of EU-27, and I guess that in the next five years, we will see more countries joining rather than any other leaving.”

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron could not secure a pro-EU vote. /AFP Photo‍

Britain will leave the European Union in March 2019.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron promised voters a plebiscite on the EU if he won the 2015 general election. He won the election but was reportedly advised against holding the referendum.

The vote was held in June 2016, but Cameron failed to secure a pro-EU vote and immediately resigned.

Economic community

Six European countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands – signed the Treaty of Paris to establish the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951.

Britain joined the community in 1973. It became the European Union under the 1992 Maastricht Treaty and now has 28 members.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on August 28, 2017. /AFP Photo

Some countries including Turkey are waiting to join the bloc.

“The so-called Western Balkan countries all want to join the European Union, and I envisage that this will happen in two or three cases in the course of next five years," said Professor Kühnhardt.

“I don’t think any other nation has an appetite to follow the British example," he added.

Out of crisis

The EU has spent the last few years plunged into fear due to the Euro crisis, migrants risking lives to cross the Mediterranean, and Britain’s Brexit vote.

As the EU appears to pull out of the crisis amid an economic upswing, the bloc’s pivotal leaders keep warning against repeating the mistakes of the past.

French President Emmanuel Macron advised last week for a radical overhaul of the EU governance if it wants to avoid a debacle.

Flags of the member states fly in front of the building of the European parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on April 3, 2017. /AFP Photo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted in a recent interview that the EU introduced free movement of people without adding stricter border checks.

Professor Kühnhardt noted that, following the crisis years, a new balance between Germany, France and the rest of the EU is necessary.

“You will hear people talking about German hegemony today, and the European Union will never have a healthy future with too much of any hegemony, anywhere at any time," he warned.

With the Eurozone crisis over, he stated, there is now an opportunity for rebalancing relations with the EU between Germany, France and other member countries.

Ludger Kühnhardt, German political science professor and director of the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) /Photo Nadeem Gill

Brexit is an event that will “make the whole European Union more balanced and positive with some gain for all countries and citizens," he added.

Britain without EU

Professor Kühnhardt said the UK “brings in enormous historical experience and brings in a deep sense of pragmatism and especially profound sense of the importance of the rule of law."

“Everybody who is reasonable on the both sides of the channel hopes for a decent and proactive relationship between the UK and the EU even after Britain leaves the European Union in March 2019.”