A more polarized Europe

When 26 of 28 members of the European Council on Friday proposed Mr. Juncker for the post as new commission president, they were paving the way for a more federalized Europe. First they accepted the Spitzenkandidat-system, which implies a ceding of power from the European Council to the parliament. Then they put forward a candidate well known as a federalist.

The selection of  Mr. Juncker was not a surprise. As an experienced eurocrat and leader of the Eurogroup during the eurozone crisis, he will probably serve the europhile mainstream parties well. Yes, there will be reforms. But not the ones PM Cameron advocated. What will emerge is primarily a more integrated eurozone Europe. This is considered necessary to avoid more economic disaster. The countries outside the eurozone will then have to do some adaptions. And the integration will probably also continue in areas like foreign policy, where Germany now presses for more uniform policies, and energy.

After PM Camerons defeat a more modest or reversed integration seems unlikely. There might of course be some minor concessions to please Mr. Cameron and the sceptics, but the march towards an ever closer union will continue.

The inevitable consequence of this development is a more polarized Europe. More people within the union will be asking for the exit, and in the countries outside - like Norway - the anti-EU sentiments will prevail and perhaps be enhanced.

June 27 2014 might be remembered as an unfortunate milestone in the European integration project.