Op-Ed Contributors

UK gets change but not at cost of stability

By Yu Xiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-18 07:50

The Conservatives' "suspicious attitude" toward the EU, however, could influence Britain's policy toward the union. The Treaty of Lisbon came into force in December 2009, marking a milestone in the EU's political integration process. The Conservatives have always opposed the concentration of power in EU's hands. They argue that the Treaty of Lisbon will cause functional conflicts among EU institutions, and instead say that the union should focus on improving its global competitiveness, alleviating world poverty and fighting climate change. It should, they say, try to address some practical problems, too, such as improving its relationship with Russia, rather than focusing on internal political integration.

Cameron has said repeatedly that he is against the transfer of important sovereign powers to the EU. In fact, he is trying to reclaim some powers from the union, tough that is very difficult because a country can do that only if it withdraws from the EU and the treaty allows no exceptions. That apart, "conditioned" by the "pro-EU" Liberal Democrats, the coalition government is likely to make some adjustments, though they will be limited.

The coalition government is expected to follow the Labour's foreign policy, especially those on China, Russia and other emerging powers. That would help it strengthen its ties with the emerging countries. The Conservatives will not retreat on human rights, either. Considering the urgent need to have close cooperation with China on issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, climate change and Iran's nuclear program, the new government is expected to continue promoting UK-China dialogue and cooperation. The new government is not likely to change its support-Obama foreign policy, either, to strengthen its ties with the US.

Plus, the new government will lay renewed emphasis on cooperation within Commonwealth countries. The Conservatives have already proposed to use the Commonwealth to promote dialogue and prevent conflicts. The Commonwealth is a special network of 53 countries across five continents with a population that adds up to 30 percent of the world's total. That is not to say that the Labour government didn't pay due attention to the role of the Commonwealth, which played an important role in dealing with the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

The author is a research fellow with the Institute of European Studies, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

(China Daily 05/18/2010 page9)

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page