Kompromat

Jacobsen waited another ten minutes but the chancellor still didn’t arrive. In the end, even in the absence of Chancellor Brun, he decided to open the meeting.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome. I would like to thank you all for coming here at short notice. Some of you may indeed wonder why you are here at all. You may believe that when, earlier this year, we concluded our renegotiation package with the UK, the European Council had, as it were, said the last word. That was our final offer.

‘And of course I completely understand if that is the view you take. Nevertheless, I too, as Chairman of the Council, must take my responsibilities seriously. It has not escaped my notice, and it will certainly not have escaped yours, that Europe today is in the midst of great turmoil. I would venture to state that even the continued existence of the European Union is under threat from the rise of anti-EU populist movements. We cannot discount the possibility of what I may call the “domino effect”. What happens in Britain next month may affect what happens in France, in the Netherlands, in Germany, and even – if this is not too fanciful – in the United States of America, where as we all know the presidential campaign has already begun.

‘That is why I have asked the president of the Commission to make one last effort to find a solution to the British problem, a solution which should ensure that the outcome of the Referendum can be seen as a confirmation, not a rejection, of our common European destiny.’

‘Hear, hear!’

Jeremy Hartley banged the table to indicate his approval. The other heads of state or government joined in the applause.

Arne Jacobsen smiled. He was not on the whole an eloquent man. But he had put a bit of effort into that speech and he was pleased by the reaction.

After that, as was usual, the European Commission led off the discussion.

Michael O’Rourke began by acknowledging the efforts of all those present in the room to avert the looming train wreck.

‘Frankly,’ he confessed, ‘if we had known a few months ago what we know today, we would have made this one last effort, as Mr Jacobsen called it, a good deal sooner. And I would say to the British delegation through you, Mr Chairman, that we should have realized right from the start that the way to deal with this problem of excessive migration was not through some special arrangements with the United Kingdom, but on the contrary through a strong and durable European solution. I would like to say now how grateful the Commission is to all the Member States, and of course to the Council secretariat, for the efforts made to move this matter forward to a successful conclusion.’

Michael O’Rourke looked up from his notes to address the chairman at the far end of the table. ‘Would it help, Mr Chairman, if I read out the text of our proposal slowly? I am not sure the document under discussion is yet available in all the official languages, so it may be helpful also to be able to listen to the interpreters.’

‘Go ahead, Mr President,’ Arne Jacobsen instructed.

Michael O’ Rourke was a large man with a booming voice. Like so many of his countrymen, he had a way with words.

He could even make the dull, procedural prose which he had in front of him that morning sound more than halfway interesting.

‘This is the text the Commission is proposing,’ he began:

‘The Council hereby agrees that:

Where any country has experienced an inflow of workers or other migrants of exceptional magnitude over an extended period of time; and where:

the size of the inflow affects essential aspects of its social security system; or

leads to serious difficulties in its employment market; or

is putting ‘excessive pressure’ on public services or the environment,

that country may unilaterally derogate from the provisions of Chapter Four, Title I, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Common Market, by imposing restrictions on the inflow of workers and other migrants, with a view to mitigating or eliminating the economic, social and environmental problems thereby caused…’

Michael O’Rourke paused, looked up from his papers and gazed about the room.

‘That’s it, Mr Chairman,’ he said.