The EU summit

(Tokyo) Yomiuri Shimbun

The summit meeting of European Union leaders was held under difficult circumstances after French and Dutch voters rejected the proposed EU constitution. However, the summit talks did not overcome the imminent political crisis, but rather further exposed an internal rift among members of the enlarged 25-nation bloc.

The EU has been able to maintain a strong influence over the international community because it has steadily enlarged its membership and enhanced political and economic integration among member states.

If it fails to fix the internal disunity that surfaced at the summit meeting, EU influence in international politics will certainly decline.

Britain will inherit the EU presidency for six months from July. If the new EU president fails to find solutions to unresolved but important issues, including the budget, the EU can expect long-term stagnation.