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In an interview with German daily Berliner Zeitung over the weekend Fischer said that the idea of a core Europe was now "passé." He said he did not see France and Germany forging ahead if disagreement over the constitution continued. "Varying speeds of integration will appear from one state to the next," Fischer said and added, "We don't want that and that's why it can only be a transitional situation. I believe the pressure will be so great that history itself will push matters in the right direction". Fischer's words are made all the more significant by the fact that in 2000 he gave a landmark speech at Berlin's Humboldt University where he first spelt out the need for a two-speed Europe. The foreign minister said he had changed his views because of the consequences of September 11, and the need for Europe to politically shape globalization. 

Fischer shifts away from two-speed EU

By Judy Dempsey in Brussels
Financial Times

Germany's foreign minister on Sunday presented an unexpected shift from open support for a two-speed Europe to championing a larger and more integrated one, a move cautiously welcomed by several countries, including the Irish European Union presidency and Poland.

Joschka Fischer pronounced this change of emphasis in an interview with Berliner Zeitung newspaper at the weekend, where he said a "core" Europe was not the solution to Europe's problems.

Germany, backed by France, had spearheaded plans for a small group of countries working together to push Europe forward, believing it would be impossible to do so once the EU expanded from 15 to 25 countries after May 1. Mr Fischer had first spelt out the need for a two-speed Europe in 2000 during a speech at the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Mr Fischer emphasised the need for a strong, integrated Europe in the light of the continuing threat of terrorism since September 11 2001 and the threats emerging from failed states such as Afghanistan.

"We have to understand that you cannot shut away these sorts of conflicts into the basement of international politics and say, it is morally awful, it is awful in the humanitarian sense, but it does not threaten us," he said. "We have a new task that will dominate the century. We have to shape globalisation politically."

The question facing Europe was "whether we can grow close enough together to bring our weight to bear".

"A small Europe would be too small in the strategic dimension to deal with the new threats and challenges of terrorism and globalisation," he said.

"You need the sheer size and weight of Europe [of 15] and 25 and 30 [countries]." Europe had to "command a Continental weight" on a par with Russia, India, China and the US. This was why he now supported Turkey's candidacy to the EU unreservedly.

Because of enlargement, Europe needed the degree of integration that the constitutional treaty would provide, with a voting system proportional to population sizes, he said.

It was disagreements over voting allocations that prevented EU leaders at their summit last December from reaching agreement on the constitution. Germany and France said it was unreasonable for Poland and Spain to have more votes than their respective population sizes, while Britain insisted on unanimity over foreign policy.

Ireland, holder of the EU's rotating presidency, on Sunday welcomed Mr Fischer's approach. "We share his view that we should be focused on getting a new constitutional treaty rather than looking at a two-speed Europe," said a presidency spokesman.

Poland too supported Mr Fischer's remarks. "Poland has always believed in the need for a united and stronger European Union with efficiently functioning institutions," said Marek Grela, Polish ambassador to the EU.