8 April 2010, Sapru House, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, India
Speaker: Sir Howard Davies, Director, LSE
The First K R Narayanan Lecture
Co-organised by Indian Council of World Affairs (New Delhi) and India Observatory
It is possible to tell two very different stories about the European Union in the last twenty years. The first, positive account we might call the "glass half full" narrative. The second, which we have heard rather more frequently of late, focuses on the empty half of the glass. How might we characterize, briefly, these competing descriptions?
The positive story is one which is most often heard in Europe, and perhaps particularly in parts of continental Europe. It is the story which enthusiastic Europeans like to tell each other over civilized meals in sophisticated Brussels restaurants. It runs roughly like this.
The European Union is a noble venture which has brought peace to a warring continent. In spite of all the difficulties of integration it has succeeded in attracting 27 members, from Estonia in the North East to Portugal in the South West, from Cyprus in the South East to the Hebrides in the North West.
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