Europe's Future Is A Bit Further Away

EVEN THOUGH FRANCE SAID OUI TO THE MAAStricht treaty on economic and political union, its voice was not hearty enough to still the turmoil in Europe. The majority for approval in last week's referendum was a sliver-thin 51%, which simply highlighted the doubts among ordinary citizens about the rapid course of European unification. Paris and Bonn still hope the treaty can go into effect by the end of the year as planned, but it seems unlikely that all 12 members of the European Community will be able to approve it by then.

^ The currency traders who knocked the British pound and Italian lira out of the E.C.'s monetary system two weeks ago displayed their own doubts about the future by selling off French francs in favor of German marks. French President Francois Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, after conferring in Paris, vowed to work together, and their central banks jointly supported the franc.

Across Europe, political leaders seemed startled to learn, from the French referendum and national polls, that their voters are deeply worried about the drive toward unity. Ordinary Europeans, the politicians now see, do not understand exactly where they are heading and feel they are going too fast.

British Prime Minister John Major is not as skeptical about European unity as his predecessor Margaret Thatcher was, but he captured the new Continental mood in his speech to a special session of Parliament. "There are fears throughout Europe," he said, "that the Community is too centralized, that it is too undemocratic, that the leaders of the Community are trying to develop it too fast." He said he would not present the Maastricht treaty to Parliament until after Denmark, which rejected it last June, has another try at approving it.

That put Major further at odds with Kohl, who wants to press ahead as fast as possible. Kohl told the Bundestag in a speech televised live that Germany's prosperity can be assured only by working toward the goal of European unity. "Germany is our fatherland," he said, "and Europe is our future." He will submit the treaty to the Bundestag for action next week.

The Community will attempt to get itself back on track at a summit of the Twelve in Birmingham, England, on Oct. 16. Major, who will chair the meeting, and Kohl have indicated that they will try to devise a statement to define more clearly the role of national governments in a unified E.C. They hope that if the summit can agree on such a policy statement, it may reassure the millions of citizens who are feeling less European than they did a few months ago. (See related story on page 62.)