Economist: EU has fresh opportunity after British ‘imperialists’ leave

Ramón Tamames

A well-known Spanish economist and politician last night described the British people as “more or less imperialists” in the context of the country’s 2016 decision to part with the European Union.

The 83-year-old Professor Ramón Tamames was speaking at the Rui Cunha Foundation in Macau, where he was invited last night to present his thoughts on the future of the European Union.

The scholar-cum-politician said that the EU has survived the economic crisis between 2008 and 2013, but now has a new problem on its hands, “and that problem is called ‘Brexit’.”

“The United Kingdom has decided to separate from the European Union. That appears [initially] to be a fiasco in the European Union, but it is [actually] a fiasco of the British people,” said Tamames.

“People in the United Kingdom, they are more or less imperialists,” he considered, adding that the British, much as they have been for centuries, are preoccupied with the former British Empire, the prosperity of the monarchy and “good business” above all.

“We can see that all the institutions of the British Empire were the real protagonists of the victory [behind] Brexit,” concluded Tamames.

But the speaker also feels that there is an opportunity in Britain’s departure.

“I am not celebrating that the country [is leaving] the project, but rather that the project can now continue [towards its federation goal],” he said.

The UK has long been seen by some EU member states as an unwilling partner in the European project, resisting closer integration and insisting on opt-out clauses.

However, it is not the only EU country to resist integration. Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary have often found mutual ground with Britain within the politicking of the European Union, and Brexit may not have the expediting effect many pro-federalists are hoping to see.

Yesterday’s talk did not give rise to such aspects, instead focusing on the rise of populism as the chief concern for Europe in the coming years. Also notably absent from Tamames’s presentation were the issues of national identity and the so-called ‘European Migrant Crisis’.

“After the economic crisis [in Europe, there] emerged apostles with very simple solutions to our problems, claiming to solve everything within a few months,” he said. “In Austria they are in a very good position, even nearly in [the Netherlands], but also Poland and Hungary.”

Tamames, who has held prestigious posts at notable academic institutions and international organizations, has long been affiliated with the Spanish hard left, having joining the Communist Party of Spain in 1956 and the United Left from 1986.

His lecture yesterday was titled “Europe Facing the Future: The role of the European Union in a world of economic and political globalization,” and served as a rallying call for a European-led, “Marshall Plan-style project” for the economic rejuvenation of the African continent.

The Marshall Plan was a U.S. initiative to rebuild Western Europe after the devastation of the Second World War. Involving the channeling of more than USD13 billion in economic aid ($132 billion in today’s terms), it was also designed to deter the countries of Europe from considering Soviet-style communism as an economic alternative to free market capitalism.

Tamames’s argument stems from growth projections of Africa’s youthful populace combined with its high birth rates, which he predicts will cause the continent’s population to swell to four billion in the near future.

The scholar argued that the European Union can play a critical role in financing the infrastructure needed to support this growth, while – presumably – advancing its international influence.

“Do you know of anyone who favors the Chinese model [of economic development]?” he asked yesterday’s attendees. “Even in Africa, there is nobody, because it [the model] lacks liberty for the individual. […] What we need in Europe are new targets. We are striving for a new distribution of power, with the contribution of all countries.”