DE GAULLE’S VIEW OF EUROPE

1. From the standpoint of De Gaulle, any coherent Europe had to be a Europe of independent nation-states with their own unique histories and cultures in which national sovereignty would always control the European institutions. Moreover, a strong and legitimate united Europe could only be the outcome of cooperation between individual countries rather than by merging them. Gaullism is the idea that the fundamental unit of international politics is a nation-state built on people with a particular history. A state is the institution of a people, e.g. French, British, Polish etc. In De Gaulle’s mind, the nation-state was genuine and a factitious organisation run by faceless bureaucrats could never replace them. Therefore, from his perspective, states are bound to survive ideologies and cannot be absorbed or merged into something larger and supranational. A federalised Europe could never work because a federal entity could not express a will that is acceptable to all members .

The General’s alternative to supranational or federal institutions was a confederal or intergovernmental union. His deep-rooted nationalism meant that he despised any schemes for international order that were not based on coherent nation-states. During a press conference held in 1962 he stated that “the only possible Europe...is that of states”. De Gaulle opposed the pooling and delegation of sovereignty in the form of qualified majority voting or commission autonomy. He often described the debate over European integration as a battle between the “utopian myths [of] supranational power” and the vision of a confederation in which France would not have to face the possibility of being overruled on social, economic and political matters, as in the EEC. In the latter, countries could head towards common institutions (if they ever did so) only by popular will and hence via referendums, not by parliamentary votes .

Back in 1953 De Gaulle drew upon these ideas in asserting his plans for European cooperation. He once told a press conference that there should be an association of nations that would involve a regular and organic council comprising all heads of governments who would make decisions on politics, economics, culture and defence; a deliberative assembly and a referendum held in all member states that would involve the people and ensure that the confederation had popular legitimacy
 

In essence De Gaulle wanted to impose his view of a “political Europe” as opposed to supranational institutions that would allow the European continent to be ruled by technocrats without a mandate and specialists without spirit or vision. The French general thought that technical rule would negate every form of human greatness, based on the ability to develop new courses of action and assume responsibility for the consequences . However, even though he was critical of the excessive power held by the Brussels bureaucracy, which in his opinion had no national legitimacy, he supported the aims of the Common Market, while defending French national interests. So he consecrated himself to the implementation of the 1957 Treaty of Rome (the founding document of the EEC) and called for the deregulation of trade resulting from this accord to be subordinated by the creation of a common agricultural and customs policy. The enactment of such policies contributed to the modernisation of French industry and agriculture .

2. De Gaulle opposed the European Defence Community, which envisaged a supranational European defence structure under NATO control and instead preferred an alliance of independent states with a combined General Staff. He rejected a supranational Europe under American command and viewed the Brussels Commission as the “instrument of a U.S.-dominated Europe .

In essence, the French president envisioned an independent Europe that would act as a ‘third force’ between the United States and the USSR. After the Berlin crisis in the early 1960s he was firmly convinced that the bipolar logic needed to be opposed.  He was a unique figure in the context of the Cold War, as he was one of the few European leaders who took a non-aligned stance.

3. In the General’s head, European integration was also a means of ensuring France’s place in the world . He wrote in his memoirs that “France cannot be France without greatness”, meaning that she had to be “sovereign, independent and free” . De Gaulle believed that every state should follow an independent policy to seek their rightful place in the world. France, in his view, was supposed to become a “principal player” on the global stage . So, although he contributed much to European integration, he always advanced the interests and augmented the prestige of his country.  De Gaulle desired a Europe dominated by France in which Germany would be politically subordinate, but at the same time a strong economic partner .

4. De Gaulle viewed Europe as a product of history and geography, transcending artificial and ephemeral divisions. In 1959 he famously stated that “it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals … which will decide the fate of the world”. He regarded historical and geographical Europe as a way of combining and increasing the power of each nation-state in order to play a prominent role on the global scene  He followed a policy of détente and cooperation with the Soviet bloc by encouraging trade and cultural relations with the USSR and its satellite states . The French president foresaw correctly the collapse of the communist regimes and believed that afterwards Western Europe (led by France) would reintegrate the continent. Moreover, he never doubted that the Russians were Europeans and considered them to be Western, since he considered Europe to be the West . In fact he always spoke of ‘Russia’ and not the USSR, because in his opinion, regimes are temporary, but nations endure

The first Fouchet Plan (1961)

During his meetings with Adenauer and other Western European leaders in 1960-61 De Gaulle expounded his views of a political Europe which should be based on the sovereignty of each member state. The first Fouchet document envisaged a common defence and foreign policy, close cooperation in the fields of culture and science and the protection of human rights and democracy. This hypothetical Union included three main institutions: the Council, the European Parliament and the European Political Commission. The Council would comprise the heads of state or government of each member who would meet every four months and all decisions had to be unanimous. The European Parliament is the one that already existed at the time and its role would be to “deliberate on matters concerning the aims of the Union” and to submit questions and recommendations to the Council . The European Political Commission would consist of senior officials from the Foreign Affairs ministries of each member state. It would be based in Paris and would prepare the deliberations of the Council and implement its decisions .

The second Fouchet Plan (1962)

Article 2 of the second Fouchet Plan stated that the objective of the Union would be “to reconcile, co-ordinate and unify the policy of Member States in spheres of common interest: foreign policy, economics, cultural affairs and defence” . Other major changes included; the creation of a Committee of Foreign Ministers and a Committee of Ministers of Education that would report to the Council; a Political Commission comprising delegates appointed by each member state (not necessarily Foreign Ministry officials) which could draft the Union’s budget; and the possibility of the European Parliament to “deliberate on questions concerning foreign policy, defence and education on which the Council asks its opinion” .

What distinguishes the Fouchet Plan from all EU reforms since that time is that De Gaulle wished to install a strong executive that would make decisions on important matters. To ensure its legitimacy, he wanted the meetings contemplated in his proposals to be treated as regular meetings of an independent European confederation rather than informal summits among national leaders. The European Commission and Parliament would not participate in its deliberations precisely because the French president was convinced that power should be preserved where it existed, create it where it does not, but never cancel or undermine it. He also believed that this framework should have its public support confirmed by means of a “solemn European referendum” .

Conclusion

De Gaulle certainly had a distinctive vision of a united Europe that was the opposite of what European federalists proposed. He dreamt of a French-dominated intergovernmental confederation that would be free from American influence and would eventually include the Soviet satellite states. His criticisms of supranationalism and his views on the importance of sovereignty, the genuineness of nation-states and the necessity for Europe to be an independent power are still valid and are being vindicated even today. Like it or not, De Gaulle initiated a trend of euroscepticism that is sweeping the continent and undermining the stability of the EU institutions. If these wish to survive it would perhaps be wise to take his theories into consideration.