26/05/2015
Barely was the ink dry on the Lisbon Treaty when there was talk of another. Speculation, particularly in the German press, was rife, but seemed to peak in 2012 when
it became clear - and more so
in retrospect - that Merkel was abandoning any immediate plans to push for another treaty.
The ebb and flow of this debate was scarcely, if at all, followed by the UK media, which remained (and remains) largely ignorant of what was happening. It failed, therefore to note the decisions taken by the "Franco-German motor" to seek all means available short of a new EU treaty to bring economic governance to the eurozone. Only when all other avenues had been exhausted would an attempt be made to launch a formal treaty process.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that when the
Guardian picks up a random a rather sketchy report in
le Monde on this continuing process, it immediately
misreads the situation.
Thus do we see the paper rushing to print with a completely bogus story on its front page telling us that that "Germany and France have forged a pact to integrate the eurozone without reopening the EUâs treaties, in a blow to David Cameron's referendum campaign".
Sidestepping Britain's demands to renegotiate the Lisbon treaty and Britain's place in the EU, the paper says, "the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, François Hollande, have sealed an agreement aimed at fashioning a tighter political union among the single-currency countries while operating within the confines of the existing treaty".
As framed by the
Guardian, there is no substance to the story. The events described are part of an ongoing routine which has been rolling out for more than five years, now based on developing a programme in "four areas", covering economic convergence, fiscal and social policy, financial stability and investment, and governance of the monetary union.
But, in a classic example of international coprophagia, once
le monde had run the story, its European partner the
Guardian decided to carry it. From there it has spread to other
UK papers, with nothing more to add than was in the original report.
Then it gets embellished beyond all recognition by the
Daily Mail, which has Mr Cameron "left humiliated after a pact between French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was leaked ruling out the need for EU treaty change".
Since then, the story has been run
other journals, and even the German media has been caught in the wake, with
Die Welt reporting that Paris and Berlin are showing Cameron "the red card" â again relying on nothing more substantial than
le monde.
All this does is reinforce the impression that the media â Europe-wide â is structurally incapable of reporting accurately or intelligently on EU affairs. So few papers are inclined to appoint specialists, and there few that we have are generally of poor quality.
That, however, will not stop the
coprophagiat gorging on the reports, interpreting the detail in their own knowing way, all to add to their own ignorance and misdirection for us the grateful plebs to imbibe while we revere their greater wisdom.
And so do we continue to be misinformed.
