European Union Reflection
By: Robin Spivey, Cohort XVI
Master of Science in Conflict Management
Our travels from Germany to France and Luxembourg underscored our learning about the physical, relational, and institutional interconnectedness of the European Union. On Friday, November 13th, we stood atop a rocky promontory overlooking Luxembourg City. From this vantage point, we could see ancient fortifications, pastoral countryside, historic and modern architecture intermingled, the Alzette River, and…a purple mermaid?! In the year 963, authorities in Trier (currently in Germany) deeded this area to Count Siegfried. According to the October 14, 2015 edition of the Luxemburger Wort, Serge Ecker’s purple mermaid, Mélusina, won the art competition celebrating Luxembourg’s 1,050th anniversary. Legend has the Count proposing marriage to a beautiful woman he met along the river bank. She accepted, conditioned upon him leaving her alone every Saturday. All went well, until he heard strange noises coming from her boudoir one Saturday evening. He spied through the keyhole and shrieked when he saw her nude in a tub, but with the lower body of a fish. This revelation ruptured the earth and sucked her into the darkness.
The European Union grew out of Europe’s Post World War II desire to form a cooperative union which strengthened each state individually and presented a unified front to the rest of the world. The Schengen (passport free) zone, the EU Solidarity Fund which shares the expense of natural disasters, the commitment to renewable energy, the expansion of mediation to cross-border disputes like child-custody and environmental policy, and its expansive human rights protections are indices that the relationship is strong. But, stress can strain even the strongest relationships… like when waves of migrants hit your shores and you cannot accommodate their humanitarian needs, much less register them under the Dublin Rule. Or when your German neighbor invites guests over and you really do not want then parking in front of your house. Or when folks in the community start demanding that your generosity reach a certain number. You may begin wondering if the costs of the relationship outweigh the benefits.
Yet, uniting against a common enemy may overshadow this tension. Clearly, what happens in a neighborhood in Belgium affects France and what French Intelligence learns affects Germany and so on. French President Hollande is asking for the country’s State of Emergency to be extended to three months. He has invoked Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union which calls for mutual assistance from other states if one is the victim of armed aggression. He wants military support from Russia, the United States, and perhaps NATO under Article 5. Once the red, white, and blue lights are replaced by life’s daily color, Europeans will have the opportunity to review the values which unite them as they help migrants settle into their communities. Although there is anger, hatred, and extremism aplenty just now, there are also messengers of love like the fathers who gently explain to their young children why mum will never come home again or how flowers can be more powerful than guns, or those who use their bodies to mitigate a bomb blast. Perhaps they will prevent us all from being sucked into the darkness.
Quick… how many lawyers does it take to provide an alternative to the legal system? Quite a few, apparently, at the Office of the European Ombudsman in Strasbourg, France. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht granted certain rights to European citizens, non-governmental organizations, states, corporations, and third country nations. Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, a journalist from Ireland, helps secure these rights by investigating non-political, written complaints about EU administration and agencies. Her office even accepts complaints via Twitter! Although the European Ombudsman may cooperate with national counterparts, she does not have supervisory power over them. Her office utilizes “soft” remedies to address problems by proposing solutions, sending special reports to the EU Parliament, contacting the media, and leading public consultations. The most aggrieved countries are Spain, Germany, and Holland. Complainants most frequently target The European Commission and the Personnel Office with the primary grievances being lack of transparency and conflict of interest. The legal staff interacts with complainants, investigates allegations, and channels complaints toward the proper entity, which may be outside their office.
Also in Strasbourg is the European Court of Human Rights, the oldest and largest human rights protection system. Created after World War II by the European Convention on Human Rights, the Court balances the individual rights of 820 million people against state power. There, lawyers analyze applications from forty-seven countries and select an adjudicatory avenue ranging from dismissal (for cases outside its jurisdiction) to a hearing before a three-judge, seven-judge, or seventeen-judge panel. Cases decided by seven or more judges are generally “precedential” (they do not use this term the way we do) in that these decisions reconcile differences created by the lower panels. Also, national courts tend to follow these decisions and some states, like the U.K., enact legislation requiring it. The Community of Ministers from the countries represented at Court may enforce the Court’s judgments through supervision, suggesting reforms, applying political pressure, or collecting compensation.
Back at the European Academy Otzenhausen, Mr. Tilmann Lahann, a business lawyer and Red Cross volunteer, educated us on Migration Policy. For me, his session echoed the value the European Union places on human life, rights, law, and order that we had heard in Strasbourg. Through an interactive session, we explored Germany’s proactive approach to assimilating migrants into its society, the difficulty in adapting policies created for another era amid political and social tensions, and some innovative ideas such as “hot spots” which will serve as a rapid response platform for European agencies to provide an integrated response to member states that experience a migratory surge. Although the operational pressures are severe, I was impressed by Germany’s initial response to the migrant surge and its commitment to providing long-term help. There will be roles for both legal and non-legal conflict managers at every stage in this ongoing process. Personally, this trip affirmed my decision to increase my problem-solving capacity by adding conflict management to my public policy and legal skill-set. I feel aligned with my legal brethren worldwide in ways that I have never before felt. And like them, I will protect values, grapple with complex issues, and use legal and non-legal tools to address disputes.
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