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EU Convulses, the World Could Care Less

Posted Jun 17, 08 10:23 AM CDT in Opinion,  World 

(Newser) – The EU has been wracked with self-doubt and indecision in the days since the Irish electorate voted down the Treaty of Lisbon. But watching the turmoil unfold from Beijing, Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens observes just how introverted the Union has become. At a critical moment in the history of one of the world's great powers, the rest of the world has no reason to care.

Europe risks being left behind in a coming multipolar world, writes Stephens, if all it does is squabble about symbols and institutions. Only by acting as one can the EU participate in a new international order, partnering with Russia, the US, and the developing world. "And if Brussels stops talking about Lisbon," he writes, "they might actually pay attention in Beijing."

Source Financial Times (UK)

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EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso addresses the media on the result of Irish Referendum at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Friday, June 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
A man reads an evening newspaper with the reported result of the Lisbon Treaty referendum in Dublin, Friday June 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/ Niall Carson)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that ratification of the European Union's reform treaty should continue "wherever it is possible" despite its rejection by Irish voters.   (AP Photo/Alik Keplic)
A voter casts her ballot in a pollling centre in Dublin city centre Thursday June 12 2008.   (AP Photo/ Peter Morrison)
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