An interview with Norman Davies.

Malgorzata Dzieduszycka-Ziemilska: What is the position of your country towards the new Europe?

Norman Davies:Norman Davies: My first reaction is: What new Europe? In my view, the old Europe of the Cold War era has passed away, but a new, stable Europe has not yet come into being.

Both the former West and the former East have serious problems; probably the former West has more deep-seated problems than the East; the European Union has a democratic deficit, the European Parliament has not particularly strong powers, it doesn't control the organization, which is essentially a club of governments, like the so-called United Nations. Equally, the proposals for monetary union are likely to provoke a serious crisis, and the question of enlarging the Union is seriously confused by the problems of restructuring the Union. Now, my country's position to that is very complicated: the United Kingdom is not a simple nation-state; it consists of four nations within one United Kingdom and parts of the United Kingdom are already moving away from the existing state: the Kingdom of Scotland is very pro-European, is very determined to establish at the very least a measure of autonomy from rule in London, and sees the European Union as a partner against London. A more radical element in Scotland which is now about 30-40% of the voting population wants complete independence for Scotland, so the position of the United Kingdom towards Europe is by no means simple, just as the overall position in Europe is not simple; we have great uncertainties ahead.

M. Dzieduszycka-Ziemilska: What does your country expect from the new Europe?

Norman Davies: There are many different and conflicting expectations from Europe, the conservative opinion which was heavily defeated at the recent elections in United Kingdom, but which constitutes of strong elements in British public opinion expects nothing from Europe. Essentially, they wish the European Union to remain as it is, as a single market, a trading area, but there's no wish for it to develop further as an integrated confederal or federal political entity. On the other hand, the new Labour government and the third party, the Liberal Democrats, are much more sympathetic to Europe, and they are looking for a new era of cooperation after a decade of very frosty relations. The big problem, I think, concerns priorities. Nobody, even in the new Labour government, is very enthusiastic about immediate monetary union for example, and there are great discussions as to whether the European Union should be reformed and restructured before it's enlarged, or whether it should be enlarged before it's restructured. And I think generally speaking in Britain the preference would be for the European Union to be enlarged to include Poland and Hungary and the Czech Republic, as NATO is doing, before there are very far-reaching reforms within the Union itself.

M. Dzieduszycka-Ziemilska: M. Dzieduszycka-Ziemilska: Do you feel a personal responsibility to Europe?

Norman Davies: Very definitely so; but to which Europe? I do not have a very strong sense of attachment to the European Union in its present form, but I do feel a strong attachment and sentiment to the European family of nations as a whole, and my particular contribution to this has been writing a large history of the whole of Europe, which stresses the common heritage, the common legacy, the common culture and civilization, and the Christian core of that European family. The European values, I think, are more important than the political, economic and social structures which are built on them. And yes, I do feel, like many other people in Great Britain and in the other countries a personal attachment, a personal sense of responsibility to Europe, but to Europe as a community and not to Europe as the present organization of the European Union.

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