A Neighbor's View

By Michel Rocard, Henry Muller, Christopher Redman and Frederick Painton

Two days after the East German vote, French Prime Minister Michel Rocard discussed the future of Europe in an interview with managing editor Henry Muller, Paris bureau chief Christopher Redman and senior writer Frederick Painton. Highlights:

Q. France doesn't seem very enthusiastic about German unification.

A. Well, there is the memory of what happened 50 years ago, when we were occupied. But don't forget the great reconciliation between the two countries that began with Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer, continued with Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Helmut Schmidt and goes on now with the friendship between Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl.

Germany is powerful, and there is economic jealousy, which is understandable. And there were the damaging three weeks it took Chancellor Kohl to realize that he had to be firm and definitive about guaranteeing the Oder-Neisse border with Poland. That was enough to worry some people -- including in France. Still, it doesn't change our position, which is that we favor German unity. The fewer problems Germans have between themselves, the fewer they will have with the rest of the world.

Q. Are things moving too fast?

A. A bit, yes, but that's the way it is. A politician who based his policies on his wishes wouldn't last long.

Q. Does a united Germany make France relatively weaker?

A. Not necessarily. The unification of Germany does not abolish the consequences of World War II, including the psychological scars, nor does it change Germany's formal renunciation of nuclear weapons. The Federal Republic's foreign policy was always based, above all, on commerce, whereas ours is broader, encompassing political and strategic considerations. In any case, the more the European Community integrates, the less all this matters. What really matters is the global strength of Europe.

Q. Isn't there a danger, though, that a united Germany will lose interest in the European dream?

A. I wouldn't call it a danger, but a risk. The European Community, thank God, is not a dream. It is true that we speak nine languages and that we still feel the roots of our national histories. But there is another reality. No member country -- not even Britain -- can afford to leave the E.C. We are much too integrated economically now, though this dependence has not yet entered the collective consciousness. So I don't think it's easy for anyone to slow down the process of integration. Everyone has an interest in taking the European path, and my country wants to go fast.

Q. If the Soviet threat is receding, is NATO still needed?

A. Yes. Because in spite of his genius, Mr. Gorbachev will die one day, maybe under bad political circumstances. He will have a successor, and Soviet army marshals cannot be excluded. Soviet military power remains a problem as long as there is not a negotiated security system. We need NATO to maintain pressure on the disarmament negotiations.

Q. Should U.S. forces remain in Europe?

A. Not for eternity, but for the coming years -- as long as European countries don't take on the defense burden themselves, which is not just a matter of money but also of weapons and a defense doctrine.